I Am Zero
by BanbieBunny
Summary: The story takes a new turn. Zero was captured when he tried to negotiate with the enemy. Now he is on their side and Ciel and Cerveau need to find out what to do before they, along with everyone, ends up dead.
1. I am Zero

Hi. This is the bro. of Banbie Bunny. This is a one chapter story that takes place a short while after Megaman Zero 3. It may branch off into a whole new story, but for now this is what it is. This is my first Megaman Zero fic. Any reviews are welcome.

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Ciel wandered about the resistance base in search of Zero. He had been missing the entire day and they had not received any calls from him. It wasn't like him to disappear without telling anyone. He had not been sent on any missions lately, and they had not had any calls from Neo Arcadia about attacks from Zero.

"Cerveau!" she called as she passed the lab door. Cerveau came out with a blow torch in his hand. "Yes Ciel?" Ciel stayed a safe distance away from the blow torch just in case. "I'm looking for Zero Cerveau. Have you seen him?" Cerveau shook his head "No I haven't. Sorry, I wish I knew where he was too. I have a new weapon for him. He's been missing all day." he suddenly dropped the torch and it hit the floor in a flurry of sparks. "Yikes!" shouted Ciel jumping right out of the way... and into the wall behind her.

Cerveau lifted his mask and picked up the blow torch. "Whoops. I guess I dropped it. Ciel?" Ciel was not there. She decided it was best to avoid any other accidents.

Ciel went to her lab and picked up a microphone that would sound all over the base. "Attention! Attention!" she began "Has anyone seen Zero? Please let me know if you've seen him." she put the microphone down and sighed. She leaned back in her seat and wrung her hands nervously. She could never worry about Zero too much. Any time he was on a mission, or when he was hurt, she was always there to apologize or help him.

An alarm suddenly sounded making her jump. She typed some commands into her computer and it brought up a map. From a vertical view of the base, it showed a red blinking dot on her lab. She looked around. There was nobody there. She picked up her microphone again "Alert Alert! We have an intruder. Be on your guard!" She repositioned the view on her map and it showed a side view. The dot was on the roof above her lab which was three floors down.

She got up and readied a blaster she had built especially for herself. Over the years, she had decided it was best to have some means of defense. She went to the elevator. A soldier met her there "Miss Ciel!" he said "Where are you going?" Ciel punched the top floor button. "I'm going to the roof to see what is going on." The soldier got out his blaster. "You can't go by yourself Miss Ciel. I'll go with you." She smiled and shook her head. "No. Thank you anyway. You stay in here if I need you." The soldier stood up straight looking as official as anything "Yes sir- I mean ma'am!"

The door opened and Ciel stepped out onto the roof. She held her blaster up and looked around. She only saw some flashing lights and sounds of battle going on behind a tower. She approached the tower and cautiously peered around the side. It was Zero, and he was fighting Sage Harpuia. Zero seemed to be putting up a good fight, but all Harpuia was trying to do was avoid him.

"Stop it Zero. You really must join-" Zero shot his buster rapidly "I can't even believe you would ask such a thing. What do you think I am? A Judas?" Harpuia shot into the air blocking shots with his blades. "It would be for a greater good you know. You can't keep going forever." Zero leapt up after him using the Chain Rod and catching Harpuia on the leg, pulling him down. Harpuia slashed at him with his saber.

Zero pulled him down and grabbed him by the neck "Sage Harpuia..." he menaced "Don't you ever try anything like that again. Got it! Now get out of here. I don't want to see you again." he threw Harpuia off the roof. Harpuia regained flight and hovered in the air. He gave a small evil smile. "You won't be able to fight it Zero. Just remember that." he took off and disappeared.

Zero stood panting and shaking with anger. His eyes were blazing with anger and something else... fear? Ciel walked over to him and laid a hand on his arm. "Zero?" she said. Zero jumped and whirled around. He sighed and put away his weapons. "How long were you here Ciel?" he asked. Ciel shrugged slightly "I just got here. I'm sorry I couldn't have been here earlier to help you. Are you alright?" she asked with concern. Zero shook his head. "Yes, but he sure made me angry. I need to go rest."

Ciel walked with him back to the elevator. "What was going on Zero? Did he attack you?" Zero shook his head again. "Sort of. I'd rather not talk about it." Ciel nodded understandingly. She beckoned to the soldier in the elevator to help Zero to his capsule. She laid one of his arms across her shoulders. Zero groaned "Come on. You worry too much about me, I'm not that hurt." Ciel and the soldier lugged him inside. "Let me help you Zero. I know I worry too much, but I can't help it. I hate to see you hurt."

Zero smiled. Ciel was a worrier all right. But it was often nice having someone worrying about you. He took his arms off them and stood up straight "I'm Okay, really. Thanks though." Ciel smiled up- way up (He is way taller than she is) at him. There was no question about it. Ciel loved Zero. It was as plain as day that she did. It was just a slight question if he loved her or not.

They finally reached the third floor again and Cerveau greeted them. "Zero!" he exclaimed "I've been looking all over for you. I have a new weapon and-" Zero waved his hand "Later Cerveau. I need to rest." he trudged off to his capsule. Cerveau looked after Zero with a confused look "What's wrong with him?" he asked. Ciel cocked her eyebrow "I think because he saw your blow torch."

Zero lay back in his capsule. He sighed as he thought about what had just happened. Harpuia dared to ask him to betray the resistance! He didn't know where he got the guts- no, lack of guts to ask such a thing. He never would... but then, his mind was filled suddenly with a few forgotten memories and a familiar fear rose up inside him.

Iris. That reploid he had known over a hundred years ago. He shut his eyes but he couldn't keep a few tears from escaping. He had fallen in love with Iris, but alas their friendship was only temporary. She was maverick and he had killed her in self-defense. He didn't want to, but he had no choice. It was then that he almost gave up on fighting. But he had continued; trying to forget his friend. But now. Even now after a century had passed she still haunted his mind.

He remembered what he had said after his mission then. He actually believed for a while that all reploids were born to be maverick. Even Megaman X had told him that he thought he would turn maverick. He had asked Zero in case that happened, to take care of him. Zero had dismissed it then, but later he found himself admitting that it might happen.

Now his mind was filled with fear that the chances of him turning maverick may in fact happen. He broke out in a cold sweat. Despite the fact that he was purged of the virus, he still thought that Harpuia may hold truth in his tauntings...

No. He said it resolutely in his mind. He would never turn maverick, never. If he could help it. "But... I'm just a copy of Zero." he said aloud leaning forward in his capsule. "I don't know if that won't happen to me as well. Omega Zero could have infected me." he clenched his teeth and fists. "No! I will not turn maverick! I won't, you hear me Harpuia!" he leapt out of his capsule and shouted at the ceiling. "I won't join your pitiful side. I am Zero! Maverick Hunter alongside Megaman X. You can ask and threaten me, but I am still a maverick hunter. Tell that to Weil for me and give it up!"

He glared angrily upward and his shoulders heaved up and down in weariness as he recovered from his surge of anger. The door to the room suddenly opened and Ciel rushed in. "Zero! Are you alright? What's wrong?" Zero closed his eyes and he sat down on a couch. "It's nothing. I just got a little angry." Ciel sat next to him and rubbed his shoulder "Zero please tell me. You don't have to, but I'd feel better if you did. I could help you..."

Zero lay back. "I... Ciel, what would you do if I turned to the bad side and joined the Guardians?" Ciel looked shocked and confused "Why, I'd... I don't know what I'd do. I, would be sad... after all you did to help us." Zero nodded slowly. "Well. Harpuia asked me to do just that. I got so angry that I blew my top. And he also said that I would turn maverick, whether I wanted to or not."

Ciel got an angry look on her face "That will never happen. I know you Zero. You are not like Omega, you are the Zero. Never forget that." she leaned over and hugged him. Zero blushed slightly, but he felt comforted and reassured at her words. He hugged her back. "Thanks. I don't know what I would do without you Ciel." Ciel felt very small in Zero's arms, but she smiled and said "I don't know what I would do without _you_ Zero."

They broke apart and Ciel stood up "I need to go and do some research now. I'll see you later Zero. Try to rest some more please." Zero stood up and walked to his energy capsule "Alright. Thanks again Ciel." Ciel opened the door and looked back "Your welcome. Goodnight." and she left.


	2. Kidnapped!

Hi everyone. I'm really sorry it took so many months to get this together, but it took a whole lot of thinking and hard work. I hope this story is what you've been wanting. I'm afraid that this story may contain more about (X.) Than Zero, I couldn't think of any other way to display the way people viewed him and reacted to him.

Here is the next chapter. Any reviews, comments, criticism and compliments are welcome. Flame reviews are also O.K. to give, just as long as they don't contain foul language. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about.

I also changed the thing in the first chapter. As some of you first readers may have remembered, Ciel kissed Zero at the end of it. Well since this story is going to be a real story and not just a plain one chappy, I took that out and saved it for later.

Well, enough said. Here's the second chapter. Please review! It took a lot of work to write it.

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Later Ciel found herself busy researching a way to use the new energy. She had been working on this all the time she was in the resistance and she found her work rewarding. The only thing left to figure out was how to use it and then the energy crisis would be solved. It was interesting because the energy was derived from two small elves in a large green tank! Their lives seemed endless. She wished she knew who created them, it was a big mind boggler.

The door behind her opened and her younger sister Alouette came in. Alouette carried a large stuffed bunny all over the place and wsa constantly finding ways to play. She was rather young and she still didn't understand the whole idea of living in a base full of soldiers. She ran up to Ciel and handed her stuffed bunny to her. "Ciel, my bunny is broken again. Can you fix it?" Ciel sighed and looked the bunny over.

"I'm sorry Alouette. It appears to need a part replaced. I won't be able to fix it for a while." Alouette's eyes filled with tears and she began to cry. Ciel picked her up and held her in her lap. "It's okay Alouette. I'm sure we can think of something, but for now he'll need to wait."

Alouette rubbed her fists in her eyes "I want something to do Ciel! I can't even play with my bunny! sniff" Ciel sighed and took out a hanky and wiped her eyes "Aw, come on. Don't cry!"

At that moment Zero entered the room. He looked mighty pleased with his new weapon. "Hey Ciel! Look at this new weapon Cerveau made for me! It's a tractor beam and electromagnetic net at the same time! I can... oh, is something wrong?"

Ciel looked at Zero pleadingly. "Could you help me out here please?" she asked.

Zero noticed the bunny and picked it up. "Broken," he muttered. Then he hefted Alouette in his arms and said "Look, I'll take it to Cerveau and he'll fix it before the day is over. How does that sound?"

Alouette sniffled, but she stopped crying "Thank you Zero." she whimpered. Zero smiled and sat down on another chair. Ciel sighed in relief and lay back in her chair

"Thanks a lot Zero." Zero waved his hand "No problem." turning back to Alouette he asked "What do you want to do Ally?" Alouette thought for a moment then said "I want to go swimming."

Zero blinked. He turned to Ciel "Uh... is there anywhere she can go swimming?" Ciel shook her head. "We don't have a pool here. All we have is a very small bathtub for Alouette and me. I could divert our water to a larger tank in the main reservoir though."

Alouette jumped up and down excitedly "You mean I can go swimming? Yay!" Zero gave her a big hug "Yes you can." Ciel looked fondly at the pair. She never saw Zero so pleasant before. He always seemed to have a warlike emotionless face. It was nice to see him enjoying himself.

She punched in a few commands into her computer and turned back to Zero "She has to be watched. Would you mind Zero? I still need to work here."

Zero nodded "I can do that. I would feel better if you watched anyway Ciel, Alouette needs you more than the research right now." Ciel thought for a moment then nodded

"You're right. I guess I should spend more time with her, but... I'm aqua phobic."

Zero raised an eyebrow "Why? Alouette isn't." Ciel's face turned red "I'm a human Zero. I have to breathe to stay alive, and I'm just plain afraid of water. Come on, the tank should be full now." Zero shrugged and carried Alouette out.

---

Dr. Weil smiled as he listened to Harpuia's report. "He seemed very angry sir. At least to me to add in all sarcasm. I watched him inside the base for a short while and I believe that Zero is very unsure of himself now." Dr. Weil nodded. "Good. You did well Sage Harpuia. You may go." Harpuia bowed "Thank you my lord." he then walked out.

Dr. Weil punched a com link on his chair's arm rest. "Leviathan! Report to my chambers immediately." He rubbed his hands together excitedly. It had all been so easy! Even after the guardians resistance to him, his controlling techniques made the guardians obey him just the same and deceive them into thinking differently. Harpuia had been especially difficult, but he managed to gain control over him as well.

"And if I can have them," he thought "Why can't I have Zero as well? As long as everything goes as expected, the whole of the resistance and Neo Arcadia will pay for banishing me." Leviathan entered the room and bowed. "You asked for me Lord Weil?"

Dr. Weil nodded "Yes my loyal servant. I need you to do a little spying on the resistance for me...

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Zero sat on the edge of the little tank of water while he watched Alouette. She was splashing about playfully in a rubber tube. Ciel sat next to Zero looking fearfully at the water. "She is brave..." she muttered. Zero smirked "You think she is brave. Huh..." he peered down into the water and appeared to be thinking deeply. None of it made sense to him. "Ciel?"

"Yes?"

"Doesn't it seem odd to you that Harpuia and Fefnir and Leviathan would still be fighting alongside Dr. Weil? I mean, he betrayed them... it doesn't seem right, especially for Harpuia. He was the first to realize why he was betrayed and why."

Ciel thought for a moment and nodded "You know what? That's a good point. I think Dr. Weil has something up his sleeve that might explain Neo Arcadia's not totally banishing him again.."

Alouette threw some water at Zero and Ciel. "Come on Zero! Let's play!" Zero chuckled and waded in. Alouette kicked her feet like a motor and tried to escape from Zero who stomped after her like a monster. "Grrrr..." he growled. Alouette screamed and tried as hard as she could to reach the other side of the tank. Ciel laughed as she watched Zero grab Alouette and roar like a hungry bear.

Then something caught Ciel's attention. In one end of the reservoir something moved. She got up and walked over. When she peered in however, she could see nothing. "It was probably nothing." she mused. She touched the water surface with her hand. She drew back swiftly and tried to dry it off "Oooh, it's cold!" she exclaimed. The water was _abnormally_ cold.

Suddenly, she turned around she saw Zero dashing forward as if to ram her into the tank!

Ciel stayed rooted to the spot and screamed "ZERO!"

Zero screeched to a halt just in front of her. He laughed "Ha! That was funny." Ciel tried slapping him, but his armor was extremely thick and her hand merely bounced off. She glared at him and walked away.

Zero stopped laughing and walked after her. "Oh come on Ciel! It was just a joke!" Ciel quickly rubbed a tear away.

"I didn't think it was funny Zero. I thought you would be a little more mature than that."

This time Zero looked offended "Mature? I go into battle every time you need me to without complaining and I'm immature? Ha!"

"ZERO!"

Zero jumped "For pete's sake Ciel, what was that for?"

Ciel looked back at him confused "What? I didn't... Oh no! Alouette!"

They both spun around to see Leviathan holding Alouette in one arm and her staff freezing the reservoir in the other. Zero whipped out his saber and charged forward "You leave her alone!" he shouted. Leviathan motioned for him to stay back "Keep away Zero, or I'll skewer this child!"

Zero stopped. Ciel ran up next to him. "What do you want Leviathan? Give Alouette back!"

Leviathan shook her head smiling. "I'm afraid that's not possible now. You have something I would like in exchange. I'll talk about it later. See you Zero!" She dove into the now frozen over reservoir. She froze over the hole after her. Ciel ran over but screeched to a halt when she reached the edge of the tank. She pounded on the ice furiously "Zero do something!" she cried.

Zero dove in, forgetting that the water was frozen. After recuperating from his head slam he charged up the Shield Boomerang. He threw it on the ice and it sawed a hole through. He broke the rest with his saber and dove in. Unfortunately the ice gave Leviathan time to escape down one of the many tubes leading into the reservoir. He swam a little ways down each tank, but he couldn't find anything. Disgustedly he swam back to the surface and onto the ice.

---

Leviathan swam through quickly through the tunnels. She carried Alouette in a bubble attached to her staff. She almost laughed. With Alouette she could make Ciel pay anything to get her back. Alouette flailed about helplessly in her bar less cage. She contacted Harpuia with her head mic. "Leviathan to Harpuia! I have Ciel's sister with me. Please inform Lord Weil."

"Very good Leviathan." said Harpuia "Lord Weil should be happy about this. Still, I think that ignoring your original orders might be of consequence to you. Please be careful with the child. Harpuia out."

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What did you think? Cannon lovers who played Megaman Zero 2 and 3 are probably wondering what Leviathan thinks she's doing. Don't worry, the story will tell you itself. All you have to do is keep reading... and reviewing:-)

I may post once every 2 to 3 to 4 days. depending on the reading. For those of you who like it, the more you review, the more frequently I post, so review!

P.S. If anyone is reading this who also read my Bass's Reality and Bass's Reality II stories, do you have any ideas for a Bass's Reality III? I'd really appreciate some suggestions. See ya! This is the bro. of Banbie Bunny logging out.


	3. A Promise

Thanks for the people who read this chapter. Here are my review responses.

**Keyo-Red Angel of hope.:** wasn't expecting follow up to this, I thought it woudl be a one shot.

Zero seems rather ooc, and Alouette isn't Ciel's sister...but this was quite good none-the less. I look forward to seeing this develop, and seeing you explain how Weil managed to control the 4 guardians.

**Me:** Thanks for the review. This was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but response was great and many people wanted this to continue on to be a whole story so I decided to oblige.

In the Megaman Zero games, Zero does not display a huge personality, as he doesn't talk much until the end most of the time. I did have to input some of my own ideas to make it fit. I just hope more people don't mind. There's a lot of respect for Zero nowadays.. :-)

I know that Alouette is not Ciel's sister, but she did adopt her, and I thought making it like this would fit the storyline best. I'm glad you like it. Nice name by the way:-)

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**Alisi Thorndyke: **Hey Matt. :) Great chapter 2. You did a nice job with it. :)

Now, I'm confused about the email you sent me today, outside of the emails about this fic, that I responded to back in July i think it was and you also mentioned my Wrath Of DemolitionMan fic and how it wasn't good? I'm seriously confused about that, so when you get a moment, please email me about that becuase I'm lost on what you are saying or were trying to say.

Talk to you later.

Alisi T.

**Me:** Thanks a bunch. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Sorry about that little incident with the e-mail. I know we already cleared up this, so I won't go into it here. I hope you like this chapter as well!

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**Sheng.Long 2005:** B... B... B.. Bass's Reality I?

Maybe have the exploring of the relationship that Roll and Bass have after the Wily War has pretty much ended.  
Whatever you do, Think about the fact you effectively ended the Wily War in BR2, with Wily losing terribly.

On the subject of I Am Zero, It's nice you're extending this out into a full story. I hope to see some interesting things going on now it's come a lot closer to his tiny little bubble of normalcy.

One thing you need to consider when you write this story is that Ciel and Zero have been together pretty much since he was awakened... It was Ciel's cyber-elf that revived him...  
I hope to have you do, sometime in the future, a scene where Zero must choose between Ciel and Leviathan (e.g Ciel is helplessly frozen, and may die, but Leviathan is sure to get away scot-free if he spends time to free her...) since this is the kind of snap decision that will affect Zero's relationship with Ciel for a longer time than any amount of missions.

**Me:** One little note here, for anyone else who wants to suggest ideas for a _Bass's Reality III_. There will definitely be a lot of involvement including Bass and Roll's relationship. If you want to suggest an idea, please think of something else. Thanks for the suggestion though, I just got a new idea that may work.

I know that Zero and Ciel have been together since he was awakened. I've played all the Megaman Zero games. I'm sorry to say this, but there will be no relationship between Leviathan and Ciel. Sorry. It's just not possible that Zero would like Leviathan, in my opinion, and plus, this is not a story about that sort of thing, it's more like how people view Zero in different ways and how he feels about that. I'm sure there are plenty of fics with Zero having to choose between Ciel and Leviathan, which you could find if you searched for them.

Well, on with the chapter.

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Zero jumped out of the water and onto the ice. Boy was that water cold! Ciel ran over to him "Zero! Where's Alouette?"

Zero hung his head. "I'm sorry Ciel. Leviathan got away. She has Alouette." Ciel was stunned. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes filled with tears. She just stood gawking. Zero looked away. He knew it wasn't his fault, but he still felt responsible. He began to walk away but Ciel caught his arm and turned him around. She glared hatefully through her tears.

"This is your fault Zero." she whispered angrily.

Zero looked shocked and confused. "_My fault!_Ciel that's ridiculous." he pried off her hand off his arm. Ciel began crying hysterically.

"I... I lost Alouette! You let Leviathan get away and now she has my sister. It... it's not fair!" she turned to run- in a very bad direction. She totally forgot the broken ice and fell through hitting her head on the ice's edge. Zero leaned over and dragged her out. Zero almost said "That was kind of stupid Ciel." but she was freezing and she seemed frozen with fear. Or cold, maybe both.

"Hey there!" called Zero to the corridor. A guard walked in. "You! Get some nurses. Miss Ciel needs medical help right now!" the guard ran off.

Ciel touched a hand to her forehead. It was bleeding pretty badly. She grabbed Zero "Please... get me off this ice." she whispered shakily. Zero carried her off the ice and onto a stretcher some nurses brought in. They ran off quickly and Zero ran after them. This was not good. Zero was not having a good time. First Harpuia, then Leviathan and Alouette, then Ciel. He had better see what he could do to get Alouette back.

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Two hours later Ciel lay back in a bed with a bandage on her head and several hot water bottles around her. Zero stood by watching. He wanted to figure out what to say before she woke up. He began reasoning out why he was clearly blameless for what happened.

1. Alouette wanted to go swimming and he had nothing to do with it other than asking Ciel if it was possible.

2. He had no way of knowing that Leviathan would sneak into the base and attempt a kidnapping.

3. He tried his best to rescue her, but failed. He never _let_ Leviathan get away.

Then he tried to figure out why Ciel had reason to blame him.

1. He did play his "harmless joke" on Ciel and took his eyes off Alouette. She might not have been captured if he hadn't.

2. He forgot that the water was frozen. He also failed to find out where Leviathan went.

3. She did ask him to watch her in the first place.

Zero could think of a number of different reasons why he was blameless, and how Ciel could lay the blame on him. It seemed clear that he would have to make peace with his temporary enemy.

Ciel woke up finally after a while and she shivered. Zero grabbed her hand "Ciel! Are you alright?"

Ciel squinted slightly at him. Then she looked away. "Go away Zero. I want to be alone."

Zero refused. "Listen Ciel, I'm not going to go about all day with a problem between us. If we hope to get Alouette back, we have to be able to work together. I'm sorry for not saving your sister. I didn't mean to lose her. If I had I wouldn't have saved you. If I hadn't strayed from my post she would still be here. I'm also sorry for playing the joke on you. Please forgive me."

Ciel felt hot tears spring out. She knew Zero meant it, and she still knew he couldn't be fully blamed for this. She felt ashamed for acting so out of line too. She looked up at Zero "That's alright. I'm sorry too Zero. I got a little worried and I... didn't treat you right. Um..."

"Yes?" asked Zero.

Ciel smiled slightly. "That joke you played when you nearly pushed me into the water was not okay... but I forgive you for your supposedly "harmless" joke. You really scared me." Zero blushed embarrassed. "Yeah... ahem Anyway."

Ciel sat up in her bed "I feel better already. I need to get to my lab and do some thinking on how to rescue Alouette." Zero offered his arm and she took it while they walked to the lab.

Zero thought back to the "icy" argument they had and remembered something she said. _"I... I lost Alouette! You let Leviathan get away and now she has my sister. It... it's not fair!" _That one part on the end- it's not fair.

"Ciel? do you..."

Ciel looked up at him and pushed her bandage back. "Hm?"

"Do you... have family in Neo Arcadia?"

Ciel slowed her pace and her face grew sad. "Yes. I do."

Zero stopped and laid his hands on her shoulders "Ciel... what do they think of you? Did they respect your decision to join the resistance?"

Ciel did her best to retain a straight face. You could tell that she was hurting inside. "No. They didn't. I think that just like all the other humans there, they were oblivious to the obvious injustice going on outside. I tried to convince them to come with me, but..." a tear trickled down her cheek. "They... they practically exiled me from the family after suggesting it. I finally left."

Zero nodded understandingly. He gave her a hug and said quietly "Ciel... you did the right thing."

Ciel cried on his arm "Thank you Zero. I-sob just wish I could think that there was some hope left for them. I think that they were totally brainwashed like all the people there are. Now it's too late to help them." Zero felt a lump of his own build up in his throat. He pulled away a little bit and tilted her chin up with his finger till she was looking in his eyes. "It's not too late for Alouette. I promise I'll do everything I can to get her back."

Ciel stopped crying. She smiled and leaned on his chest. "Thanks Zero. It's a relief to talk about it." She took out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes and regained her composure. "We'd better get to work. If we want to rescue Alouette we had better work on a plan."

They didn't have long to wait however. Once they entered her lab the big screen on her wall turned on and an image of Dr. Weil appeared. "Well we didn't have to wait long on it." remarked Zero.

Dr. Weil nodded "If I understand what you said correctly," he began "I think I can relieve you of having to work on a plan." Ciel stepped up to the screen.

"What do you mean Dr. Weil?" she asked.

Dr. Weil smiled a very amused smile at what he was about to ask. "I believe you can guess Miss Ciel. I suppose you know I have your sister Alebette."

Zero smirked. Ciel set her teeth and said "Alouette Dr. Weil."

Dr. Weil shrugged. "Whatever. And that's **Lord** Weil to you. I have a question for you Miss Ciel. Do you...ha ha... _love_ your sister?"

Zero spoke before Ciel could answer "What relevance does that have with the situation at hand **Dr.** Weil?" he demanded. "Just say what you have to say."

Dr. Weil made a mock hurt look "Oh if you want to be like that then..." His face transformed into an evil snarl and in a reminiscence like unto Uncle Sam, he pointed at Zero and growled, "I want **YOU**!"

Zero drew back as if the finger was about to poke him. "Excuse me?"

Dr. Weil sighed and rolled his eyes irritably. "Oh come now Zero. I think you know what I mean. It all depends really on what you are willing to lose. I want Zero in exchange for Alouette. I promise I'll just speak to Zero. I won't put him in prison or anything. I won't even attack him."

Zero's eyes hardened "Forget it Dr. Weil. I don't want to see your soldiers; Let alone speak with them."

Dr. Weil looked at Ciel. "Miss Ciel, is he serious?"

"He sounded serious to me Dr. Weil." Ciel answered.

Dr. Weil glared intently at her. "Listen now. You still don't seem to get it. Either he comes, or she dies. And as leader of the resistance Ciel, you have the authority to order him to comply. It's your choice."

Ciel broke out in a cold sweat. She had a very hard decision to make. Alouette was the last of her true family she had left, even if she had adopted her. She couldn't bear to lose her now. And yet, she couldn't lose Zero either. He was the backbone of the resistance. If he left they wouldn't stand a chance against Neo Arcadia. She looked at Dr. Weil and spoke slowly

"I never force him to do anything Dr. Weil. I won't make him risk his life for my sister's." She bit her lip hard and turned to Zero.

To her surprise, Zero didn't look very worried. He stood up straight and answered Dr. Weil before he could reply. "I'll come Dr. Weil. I take you at your word that you won't attempt to harm me or Ciel."

Dr. Weil smiled. "And I'll take you at yours. You won't attempt to harm any of my Guardians. We won't even bring our weapons and you can bring yours. Both of you meet us at the Tower alone at 2300 hours. Lord Weil out." His image disappeared.

Ciel leaned heavily on her keyboard. "Zero... do you really think that was wise?" Zero sighed and shook his head. "Negotiating with Dr. Weil is never wise." he said rhetorically.

"But Zero please," said Ciel "What would happen if they caught you? The resistance would fall! And I couldn't bear losing you."

Zero smiled and patted her on the back "Don't worry. I won't let them capture me. Besides I made a promise. I'll do anything I can to get your sister back. And you can say that I made the decision to negotiate with Dr. Weil myself. Don't feel like you're being selfish or anything."

He checked the time on the computer " Ciel, it's 2255 hours. We'd better leave soon." Ciel nodded. They both went into the command room. "Transfer to the tower in Neo Arcadia."

"Transfer in progress." stated the operator "Stand by for transferring sequence." The transfer sequence glowed a bright yellow, and the safety alarm began sounding. Ciel suddenly gave Zero a quick hug. "I don't know what will happen Zero. Please don't let them capture you." Zero hugged back. "I've told you before Ciel. Don't worry."

"Transfer to commence" said the operator "...1...2...3... Transfer!" Zero and Ciel both were bathed in a glowing light and then they disappeared.

* * *

There's the second chapter. I'll update the next one in the next day or two, so don't worry, it won't be long in coming.

By the way, if you have read my other stories and you have an idea for a sequel to _Bass's Reality II_, please let me know. See ya!


	4. The Tower

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great chapter. :) I wonder what's going to happen to Zero and if Dr. Weil is going to keep his promise about not attacking Zero. Hopefully nothing happens becuase the world wouldn't be the same without Zero around. :) Good job on this chapter. :)

Also, I put out my new story. :) The one i was telling you about in my email. I don't know if you like spoilers or not, but my new fic takes place in the second half of Axess, near stream. So whatever your preference is, please take a look at my fic when you get a moment. No rush. :)

Talk to you later. :)

Alisi T.

**Me:** Hey Alisi! Your about to know exactly what happened. I'm glad you like the chapter. :-)

I read your one story. At least, I'm pretty sure the one I read that you wrote was the one you told me about. It was good, and I hope you continue. Good luck. :-)

- - - - -

**supercookies567:** very interesting

**Me:** Thanks. I'm glad you found it interesting. That's a pretty funny name by the way.

Well here's the chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

The Tower. No longer used for housing a hidden evil. The seal and confinement of the Dark Elf took place right here. Megaman X himself stood guard over it. Until that dark day when a sick-minded Elpizo used the power of the two elf copies to destroy him and unleash the power of the Dark Elf. Abandoned. Nobody dared enter it for fear of other unknown powers maybe lurking inside. The whole place was a mess from Zero's previous battle with Elpizo and the scraps and remains of his body lay scattered about around the giant spherical prison.

Zero and Ciel transferred in. They gazed in disgust at the disheveled area. Zero ruefully kicked a plate of metal. "That's a part of Elpizo's armor. I wonder where he is now... being a cyber-elf."

Ciel looked at the seal and the place where Megaman X once stood. "I wish I knew too." she added. "I also wish we could have saved Megaman X before he was destroyed. Hmmm... interesting."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What's interesting?" Ciel shrugged and looked around. "I think that something's missing here Zero. Look at all of the parts to Elpizo lying around. I can't see anything else other than pieces of the prison."

Zero raised his eyebrows "Are you implying that Megaman X wasn't destroyed?"

Ciel shook her head and looked at the rubble "Well... no. I mean I don't think it's possible but.. hm. Think Zero, do you remember Megaman X being destroyed?"

Zero nodded. Of course he did. He saw Elpizo strike him completely down the middle and there was an explosion and Megaman X was-" Zero snapped his fingers "Wait a minute! I did see him get struck but... I think he might have missed him and hit the seal instead. Megaman X could still be..."

He didn't finish his sentence for at that time all three of the guardians transferred in and so did Dr. Weil. Zero stepped forward and faced them. "Well?" he held out his hand. "I believe we made an agreement?"

Dr. Weil nodded to Leviathan, who tossed Alouette to Zero. He caught her and handed her to Ciel. Alouette cried and clung to Ciel. Ciel ssshed her and tried to comfort her.

Zero then walked up to Dr. Weil keeping his buster charged and raised. "If you want to talk, let's talk."

Dr. Weil remained hovering in the air. "I agree. Let's get down to business."

Dr. Weil folded his hands together and spoke in a civil tone of voice "Zero. You remember Harpuia's visit? And the request he made?"

Zero glared at Harpuia "How could I forget Doctor? Well, what of it?"

"I'm here to make a similar request, but in quite a different manner. Zero, do you seriously believe that you alone can stop me?"

Zero's answer was swift "Yes."

Dr. Weil looked disdainfully down "**Please** let me continue. Can you remember what you were created for? To serve humans and mankind. Contrary to what you were doing a hundred years ago, you are now fighting against the humans! Who exactly do you think you are? To the humans living in Neo Arcadia, any reploid suspicious of being a maverick is terminated. Do you... Zero think before you answer this- do you want mankind's approval?"

Zero thought for a moment. At first yes.. but at this point of time... no. But he fought for peace for both humans, and reploids. He looked up at Dr. Weil "If I understand the position of the humans in Neo Arcadia, no. Besides, they don't know about all those innocent reploids being retired, do they?"

The three guardians suddenly jerked as he said this, but then they regained their normal composure. Dr. Weil glared at him. "And how would you know they weren't? After all, any reploid would gladly join the resistance if he wanted any hope of survival. You might be housing mavericks right in your resistance base."

Zero shook his head with a knowing smile "Nice try Dr. Weil. But I'm not that stupid. Not even after a hundred years. Don't try to convince me that I'm betraying the humans." He pointed at Ciel and Alouette "They're the ones I fight for. I don't fight or attack any humans. Even in Neo Arcadia. If those humans there would hear the truth directly from Ciel and saw unmistakable evidence of your behavior, they would instantly turn tables on you."

Dr. Weil's face turned to stone. He knew he wasn't getting anywhere in his argument. It was now time for extreme resorts. He clapped his hands and a powerful orb formed in his hand. "I didn't want it to come to this Zero. But I'm afraid that you just don't understand that..." he suddenly hurled the powerful orb towards Zero. "YOU WILL BE MINE!" Zero released his charged shot and both power orbs collided in mid-air. Unfortunately Dr. Weil's orb was more powerful than the shot and it came on anyway. Zero had no time to dodge and he was trapped in a large wave of energy.

"Aaaah!" he yelled. His head screamed in pain as he felt some kind of... data, or something enter his head. It was quick and ravaging and it was.. evil. He grabbed at his head and screamed aloud in pain as his ethical patterns were beaten down by the dark energy that infected him. "ZERO!" cried Ciel.

…………………………..

Zero fell to his knees panting heavily. Dr. Weil laughed and hovered down to the ground. He walked right up to Zero and patted him on the shoulder. "Sorry Zero. But you understand I'm sure."

Ciel put Alouette down and ran over to Zero. She grabbed him by the shoulders and helped him to his feet. "Are you alright? Zero, please answer me!"

Dr. Weil attempted to loosen her grip on him "Let my servant go Miss Ciel. After all, you no longer are affiliated with him." Ciel shot an angry glance at him "Leave me alone!"

She suddenly felt a jarring blow to her stomach and she flew across the room and up against the wall. The wind was knocked out of her and she lay gasping. Through disoriented vision she saw that the one who elbowed her was- no it couldn't be, Zero!

Zero turned around and his eyes glowed red. "You humans are no longer to stand in the way of Lord Weil. I serve him and it's time to fulfill my duty." Ciel's eyes widened in shock. She refused to believe that the orb made Zero evil. She tried to stand

"Zero! What are you doing? Dr. Weil is not your master! Don't let him fool you!"

Zero began charging up his buster. Ciel took out a communicator and contacted the base. "Someone, please lock onto Zero now and- AH!" the communicator was blown from her hand by a flame from Dr. Weil.

Zero kept his buster trained on Ciel, and Alouette who now joined her. "Don't try anything Ciel. You will die easily, I assure you. You should have given us the Ciel System a long time ago." he suddenly directed his buster to the ceiling and-

Stopped.

Zero's buster stopped charging and his face turned soft and the evil glow in his eyes dulled. He began to lower his buster, grimacing as if he was feeling great strain in doing so. The good side of him was trying hard to keep him from doing something he had never in his wildest dreams thought he would ever do. He ground his teeth as he seemed to be pushing his own arm down. Dr. Weil's face twisted into a leer and he built up the control he had over him. Zero's eyes widened in strain and fear as he saw his buster go level with Ciel and Alouette... and then higher, and higher, and higher still. It was now aimed at the ceiling directly at their heads.

Zero felt sweat drops run down his face as he realized what was about to happen. "I can't be doing this," he thought in disbelief and guilt "This time nothing will stop it. Evil has finally won." He shut his eyes as his buster charged and fired.

The shot blasted a gigantic chunk of the ceiling down and it came crashing down on top of Ciel and Alouette, and their screams faded quickly. Zero fell to his knees once more, but when he got back up, his eyes were glowing crimson; once again showing that the legendary hero was under the control of the evil influence he had fought so hard to defeat.

Dr. Weil laughed maniacally "Bwa ha ha ha ha! Finally, my day has come. This is the beginning of a new age my guardians. Prepare for operation Смерть!"

All "four" guardians transferred out.

* * *

I'm really sorry about this, but this is what I had in mind for the story. Don't worry, Zero isn't that easy to beat. But to find out how he does, you have to (reminiscence of Chris from Adventures in Odyssey) Keep Reading:-E)

Once again, if you have any ideas for a Bass's Reality III, please let me know. I would appreciate it.


	5. What to do

- - - - -

**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** Great story, Keep writing. I love anything that has to do with Zero or Ciel. Update soon and I'll get to reading Bass's Reality soon so I can try to help yee on thinking up some topics

**Me:** Sorry that I didn't get to responding to this sooner, it sort of escaped me. There won't be too much Zero loves Ciel moments, but the ones that will be there will be satisfying, I guarantee.

Please do read the other Bass's Reality stories. Mind you, they aren't the best pieces of fiction I've ever written, so please forgive me :-)

- - - - -

**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** Great story I can not wait to see what happens next!

By the way does that ball of light have anything to do with the maverick virus from the original X series?

**Me:** I'm glad your enjoying this, I hope this chapter is satisfying.

I've only played Megaman X 1-5 Oo? ONLY THE FIRST FIVE? I'm not sure I know what your talking about, but it isn't. Entirely my idea.

- - - - -

**supercookies567:** nice and great story!

Ples write more soon

**Me:** I have the whole story written out. I just post now and then, depending on reviews. hint hint!

- - - - -

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Oh lord. Zero has gone nuts and that jerk Dr. Weil didn't keep his promise about not hurting Zero. He did hurt Zero and now Zero is evil and may go on a killing spree. Zero, Why? Why Zero WHY? Begins crying Poor Zero.

Sniff Oh, um, sorry. ! Got caught up in the moment there, but great chapter Matt. :) As always and I hope you are feeling better too. :)

Talk to you later.

Alisi T.

**Me:** I'm glad my chapter had such a dramatic effect! Yeah, I wasn't too proud of Zero being caught either, but that's the way it goes. Don't worry, Dr. Weil will pay for later.

I am feeling a lot better now. Thanks for the good wishes, I really appreciate it :-)

* * *

Dead. Crushed to bits beneath chunks of concrete and steel. Ciel felt true and total defeat. It was over for her, and the resistance. She cried. Sort of, at seeing how her life's work and all her dedication led up to this. It wasn't fair. Even Zero now was gone and the world would eventually collapse under Dr. Weil's command.

Suddenly... Ciel opened her eyes. She could see a slab of concrete three inches above her. She was not dead! She looked around and struggled out of the concrete. It had fallen so haphazardly down that all the junk and wreckage lying around had disturbed it's downward movement and she had been saved by a chunk of the Dark Elf's prison. She looked about.

"Alouette!" she cried frantically. She shifted rubble around as best as she could looking for Alouette. She found her lying in a pile of crushed concrete.

Ciel picked her up and tried to wake her up. "Alouette! Please tell me your alive, please!" Alouette didn't move. Ciel found the communicator that Zero had knocked from her hand and tried to use it. It wasn't too badly damaged. She repaired it as best as she could and turned it on.

---

Back at the base, Cerveau had taken Ciel's place as commander and was sitting in the main room when they received the transmission from Ciel. "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzt- somebody here me? Someone please respond!"

Cerveau turned on the com link on the chair "Ciel? Is that you?" Ciel's voice came very staticy "Yes it's me! I need someone to lock onto me and transfer me now!"

Cerveau nodded to the transerver operator and Ciel was teleported in. Cerveau ran up to the pair. "Ciel! What happened? Where is Zero?"

Ciel just stood with a blank emotionless face. She handed Alouette to him and walked out. Cerveau cocked an eyebrow.

"Something is definitely not right." he hefted Alouette in his arms. She was alive, and sleeping now so he took her to her room. Afterwards he went to Ciel's lab. She was sitting in her chair with her head resting in her arms on the desk. Cerveau walked up quietly and laid a hand on her shoulder "Ciel, are you alright?" he asked.

Ciel sighed dismally. "Well aside from almost losing Alouette, completely losing Zero and almost getting killed, yes I'm alright. Thanks for asking."

Cerveau rolled his tongue in his mouth. "Oookaay... that doesn't sound too good."

Ciel slammed her hand down on the keyboard. "The situation is impossible Cerveau! We lost Zero and now he's serving Lord Weil! What's going to happen to us?"

Cerveau drew up a stool and immediately began talking urgently "Ciel, stop right there. As much stress as you're in, you must keep a cool mind. Everyone in this resistance will lose hope if you do. You are the very heart of the resistance's moral. If you don't control yourself, nobody will."

Ciel hated what he was saying, but nevertheless it was true. She nodded and composed herself as best as she could. "You are right. Any ideas?" Cerveau shook his head. He leaned back on his stool until his head was resting against the wall. "No. If you wouldn't mind though, I really want to hear exactly what happened."

Ciel agreed and told him everything down to the last detail. Cerveau shook his head "This is unbelievable Ciel. You would think that Zero would be stronger than Lord Weil. Not to put him down or anything. But... I am interested in what you said about Megaman X. There is a distinct possibility that he might still exist?"

Ciel turned back to her computer and began working on different plans. "No. Even if he wasn't destroyed, why wasn't his body still in the tower? Why were there no parts? It doesn't make sense- Cerveau, that someone didn't think to get him first."

Cerveau suddenly lifted his head up, causing him to momentarily lose his balance against the wall. He swung his arms about to keep steady "Woah... ahem. We shouldn't sit around doing nothing Ciel. That doesn't necessarily mean he isn't around the tower? Outside of it perhaps? Maybe he was blown through a window or something?"

Ciel sighed. Cerveau was encouraging, but it didn't help. She kept working on her computer. "I can't think of anything else at the moment. Tell you what, if you want to go there and investigate, take some soldiers and go ahead. You have my permission." Cerveau got excited and lost his balance completely. He crashed to the floor hitting a shelf- which knocked down a box of tools- which fell over on him- spilling the tools as it went. Ciel almost laughed at her unfortunate friend. Cerveau threw the tools off and rubbed his head

"Thanks, I think. I need a bandage first, if you don't mind." he walked slowly out of the room rubbing his head.

---

Cerveau marched into the command room with a troop of six soldiers behind him. He stood on the transfer pad "Please set the coordinates for the previous location operator." he commanded. The operator looked at him suspiciously

"Why?" Cerveau pointed to the soldiers "I have business at the tower. Now do as you're told." the operator still wouldn't transfer.

Cerveau walked up to him "What is the matter with you? I have Dr. Ciel's permission to go!" The operator removed his mask and looked at him with a really obnoxious look on his face. "Oh yeah? I want that in writing."

Cerveau rolled his eyes "For pete's sake just do as your told. I don't know what's wrong with you, but you better transfer now or else." The operator stood up and faced him. "Or else what?" he sneered.

Cerveau thought for a moment, then took out his blow torch. The operator scrambled quickly to the controls and set the coordinates "There you are sir! Go right ahead!" he mumbled nervously. Obviously he had heard of the previous incident regarding the welding tool. Cerveau nodded curtly and joined his men on the pad. "Go ahead." he said. He and the rest of the men transferred out.

* * *

Once they arrived all the soldiers drew their guns out. There was nobody present but they remained armed just the same. Cerveau walked around looking through the rubble and pieces of metal. He beckoned to the soldiers. "You two keep a watch for any Neo Arcadian troops. And you four search through the rubble for anything significant." they all went about their work. For an hour or so they turned over every bit of junk they could see. Nobody went too near the prison. They were all very wary of that. Cerveau had some of them clear away the junk till it was up against the walls. 

He got down on his hands and knees and inspected the floor. He could see a lot of burn marks and dents. Most likely from the battle between Zero and Elpizo. Ciel's voice suddenly spoke out of a communicator on his belt. "Cerveau what exactly are you doing? Inspecting that area won't help you find Megaman X. Cleaning up that tower isn't the reason you're there."

Cerveau took the communicator and held it to his head "Listen Ciel, I'm conducting an investigation. I'm looking for clues to where Megaman X may be." He could hear Ciel scoff a little bit. "You aren't Sherlock Holmes you know Cerveau. You- click" Cerveau clicked off the communicator.

One of the soldiers walked up to him. "Sir, I believe we have found something that might interest you." he pointed to the glass domed ceiling. One of the panes of glass was gone. "Could he have been blasted through there? It's about fifty feet up." Cerveau bit his lip and peered up to the ceiling. Maybe...

"Maybe soldier. It could have happened. Take some men and search the ground around the tower and the top of it." the soldier obediently took three of the men to search. Cerveau walked over to the seal. Even he himself didn't get too close to it.

Curious. Right in front of the seal where Megaman X would have been, part of the floor was ripped out. He looked up at the glass dome and the hole. They seemed perfectly aligned with each other. Was there something that corresponded with the broken window and the hole? The soldiers arrived a few minutes later empty handed. "Sorry sir. We couldn't seem to find anything but a piece of iron and clay. Part of the prison."

He handed the piece to Cerveau. He was right, it was a piece of the prison. Oh well, maybe it was just-

BOOM! Suddenly a section of the wall fell down and Fefnir stood with a smoking flame cannon aimed at it. "Don't move scientist." he commanded "I'm here to take you to Lord Weil for trespassing on Neo Arcadian property." the soldiers all drew their guns and aimed. Fefnir laughed mockingly at their blasters. They were puny compared to his cannon.

Cerveau made a hand motion to one of them and they all ran about the room. Fefnir fired shot after shot after the men but they were fast and he missed most of them. One however got his gun blown to pieces and an energy case fell from it.

Cerveau took out his communicator and contacted the resistance. "Cerveau to Transerver Op. 1. Transfer immediately! Repeat, transfer immediately!" He put it away and distracted Fefnir. "Hey flamin lizard! Blugelugelug!" he flapped his tongue up and down ridiculously. Fefnir's attention was drawn away from the men long enough for transfer to commence.

Unfortunately Cerveau was not. He was still left standing in the open right where Fefnir could shoot him. "You're mine!" shouted Fefnir as he fired a steady stream of fire at him. Cerveau, however nervous as he was, was still resourceful and in no time at all he had figured out a plan. He held up the plate of seal that the soldier had given him to protect himself. It melted away into a soft mushy substance. Fefnir stopped firing and threw back his head, laughing uproariously "Ha ha ha ha! You are like, so dead now, man!"

Cerveau suddenly dashed for the energy pellet and picked it up. He reached into his coat for some screws. With his protective lab gloves on he spread the energy pellet all over with the hot clay, along with a special gas capsule. The clay cooled almost instantly. He stuck the screws inside pointing inwards towards the pellet. After Fefnir finally recovered from his laughter, his face curled into a nasty grin.

"Now to finish you off!" he made a mad dash forward.

Big mistake.

Cerveau hurled his sticky conglomeration at his head. It exploded on contact with Fefnir's face. Fefnir swayed about as the gas from the capsule surrounded him in a cloud and he fell on his face. Cerveau grinned and walked up to him with his blow torch ready "It's not nice to attack someone with knock-out bombs!" he jeered. He removed Fefnir's chest plate and took out the flame chip. Then he took out his communicator.

"Transerver op. 1. I'm alright. Please transfer me now." he was transferred out.

* * *

That was an odd ending, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to stop this chapter. If any of you would like, I'll post the next up tomorrow or the day after. Just review, hint hint! And let me know! 


	6. A Precious Life

**Alisi Thorndyke:** This was a good chapter Matt. :) Thank the lord that Ceil's sister is still alive, along with herself and when Cerveau turned off the communicator on Ceil while she was talking, was funny. :) Keep the chapter's coming. :)

Speaking of chapters, i'm currently working on chapter 6 to for the love of music. It should be out next week sometime. :)

Well, talk to you later. :)

Alisi T.

**Me:** Hi Alisi. I'm glad to know that your working on your story. I hope you can upload it soon:-) I really want to read it :-)

I'm glad you thought that thing with Cerveau and Ciel was funny. I didn't actually intend it to be hilarious, but since you thought it was funny, I think I'll let it stay! ;-) Just fooling aorund, I am glad you like it. I hope you like this chapter, it's supposed to be funny, and serious too, even if it is rather short. I hope you like this chapter too!

- - -

**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** Please update tomorrow Pleasee!

Also to let you know I haven't played any Megaman X game beyond the second, but through about a months worth of reading boards with topics on the megaman games and looking through official sites and just plain surfing through the search engines I found out a lot.  
But it is mentioned in the MMZ2 on ciels computer... though there it said sigma virus, but same thing.

**Me:** As you can see, I have updated today as you requested. Thanks for reviewing!

I was only able to play 1-3 before I could get a hold of the next 2, and I found out about the next games much the same way as you did. I think I knew the storyline to more of the games before I was able to play them come to think of it. :-)

I know about the Sigma Virus and everything, anyone who likes to know about the X games should know about it.

Well I hope you like this chapter here, get on with reading it anyway! ;-)

- - -

**supercookies567:** I've been reading bass's reality its really good and the chapter was great

**Me:** Really? That's great! I'm glad you like the Bass's Reality stuff too, I was afraid some would just think it was "okay", if you know what I mean. Here's another chapter, I hope you think it's good too.

I don't know why I mention this, but you do have a really funny name. I feel like laughing every time I read it, it cracks me up.:-D

* * *

"You mean to say you found nothing?" Ciel paced around in front of Cerveau. Although he had arrived with all the soldiers fully intact, she still wasn't satisfied with the outcome of the investigation. Cerveau shook his head "I'm afraid not. I investigated inside and outside of the tower. Not a single bit of armor belonging to Megaman X."

Ciel stopped pacing and looked directly at Cerveau. "It wasn't necessary to clean everything up you know Cerveau. Just to find Megaman was your mission. Now next time, spend your time a little more prudently. Go now."

Cerveau frowned annoyed and grumbling under his breath he trudged off to his lab.

Ciel went to her own quarters and sat down on her bed. Alouette was still asleep in her smaller bed. Ciel walked over and kneeled beside the bed. She moved a few strands of hair out of Alouette's face and she smiled. Though they were called sisters, Ciel had adopted Alouette as a daughter. But everyone thought it was more of a sisterly relationship. It was heartwarming to Ciel as she watched Alouette smile in her sleep and snuggle down with her bunny that Cerveau had repaired.

What a precious life. So sweet and innocent. It had taken a lot before she was allowed to adopt her. Now she had her. But at what price? What sacrifice had been made to keep this girl alive? Zero had unwisely conversed with the deadliest enemies to get her back. Now it put her and Ciel and all the rest of the resistance in danger. Ciel had hoped that Zero would be something like a father to her; at least the way he acted towards her and everything. She had also hoped that someday...

No. It would never happen now. Zero was evil, and it was because of his sacrifice she had Alouette now. Ciel firmly vowed in her mind that she wouldn't waste that sacrifice. And if she had anything to do with it, Alouette would live.

With these thoughts, Ciel couldn't help herself. She bent down and hugged Alouette tightly. Alouette yawned and opened her eyes. "Ciel? yawn hi... what happened? Where's Zero?"

Ciel shook her head smiling. "Don't worry about it now Alouette. Just rest for now, okay?" Alouette nodded and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Cerveau took out another cup of coffee from the maker. Whenever he was frustrated or annoyed he always drunk some coffee. Mostly the kind loaded with caffeine. It had a stronger taste and he put loads of sugar in it too. If there was one thing he didn't like, it was criticism. He hated to be criticized, even when he knew he had made a mistake. Gulp! That made five. He got another one and put in six tablespoons of sugar in.

"Oh this is ridiculous!" grumbled Cerveau "I have to be positive. What I did wasn't a total failure! I got the flame chip. Although I guess it isn't that valuable considering Zero is gone. Besides I wasn't waxing the floor in the tower, just pushing things around to look for clues." he took another swig of coffee, accidentally spilling it on the floor. He sighed in disgust and went back to his coffee table. He began to put another coffee together using a variety of ingredients. "Now let's see..." he thought. "I saw some battle marks. A broken window, a piece of clay. Hmmm..."

Suddenly his mind snapped "Oh! I know- awww man! I forgot! What was it now?" H

e absentmindedly let his hand work on the coffee. First he took out the mug. He took a spoon and scooped eight tablespoons of sugar in a glass of water. Then he grabbed a container of coffee grounds thinking it was a pitcher of real cream and dumped it into his mug. Took his spoon again he stirred the sugar saturated water furiously, picked up his coffee mug and took a big gulp.

"Blaw-huaaaaaaaa! Cough! cough hack cough! cough!" he spluttered and coughed spitting out clumps of coffee. He quickly grabbed the water to wash his throat down, only to find a mass of dissolved sugar in it. He spit a fountain of sticky liquid out like a whale. Afterwards he slipped on the coffee he had spilled earlier and fell to the floor. He lay trying to recuperate. Gasping and heaving he lay. A caffeine loaded, coffee swilled, sugary creamy mess of sticky water and coffee grounds.

"Aaah..." he moaned "Why does it always have to be me?"

Then, he stopped breathing hard and froze. His face lit up and he scrambled to his feet, being careful not to slip on the goo on the floor "Ah! I have it! I have it! So that's where I forgot to look! I know where Megaman X is!"

---

Ciel got up from Alouette's bed and rubbed her eyes. She was tired. Exhausted more like. She had been through many trying ordeals these past couple of days and she needed rest. Once she lay down in the comfort of her bed, her mind set itself at ease. Maybe it wasn't completely hopeless. Perhaps she could rescue Zero from whatever curse Dr. Weil laid on him. Maybe even defeat him in the making... oh let's not be ridiculous. She just wanted to sleep for now.

Unfortunately that would not be happening anytime soon. Just as she closed her eyes, the door to her room suddenly opened and Cerveau ran in. He looked around and spotted Ciel in her bed. "Get up! Get up!" he shouted.

Ciel groaned and tried to look away from him. He looked like he had taken a bath in coffee ingredients. "Please go away Cerveau. I need to rest without coffee addicts like you to-"

Cerveau cut her off "Ciel this is important! I think I know where Megaman X is!"

Ciel raised an eyebrow "Oh really? That's nice."

Cerveau jerked her up in her bed. "Listen, just listen! When I took note of the hole and the broken window, I-" he never got to finish his sentence. An alarm blared around the base. Ciel jumped from her bed and punched a few commands into her computer. A red haired reploid appeared on the screen. "This is tower seven. A large number of Neo Arcadian clones have just entered the premises of the base! They are being led by all three guardians of Dr. Weil and Zero! Miss Ciel, what is going on?"

Ciel felt her heart turn to water. She ground her teeth together and said "Don't worry about that now. Group together a small number of resistance fighters. Tell the rest to report to the command room immediately. Ciel out."

She cut the communications. Turning around she yelled "Cerveau! Where are you?" Cerveau was right behind her. He jumped and saluted. "Yes ma'am!"

Ciel wrung her hands together. "Cerveau I need you to go about the base telling every reploid you see to get down into the emergency vault now. First you get cleaned up and get a better coat we have a dress code around here."

Cerveau stood dumbfounded as she walked away. He looked around for a bathroom when Ciel called him back "Cerveau go now! Don't waste any time!" Cerveau reluctantly ran off through the base alerting everyone he could see.


	7. Preparations

**Alisi Thorndyke:** This was a great chapter Matt. :) Ceil and Alouette's relationship does appear more sisterly then in the way of Mother and daughter, but in either way, it works and we all saw that Cerveau was having a really bad day with that coffee. :) But it did gave him a clue he missed. Maybe i should drink coffee more often becuase I seem to miss alot myself. lol, but this chapter was great. :) Update when you can. :)

Talk to you later. :)

Alisi T.

**Me:** I liked writing this chapter. Have you ever had a moment when you wrote something in a story you knew was good and you knew people would like it, well that was one of those times and I am delighted to see that you like it too.

The Cerveau coffee idea was a bit influenced by something I've read before, I won't say it, but most of the accidents were made up myself. I hope you like this chapter too. Sorry I've been so long in posting.

- - - - -

**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** good chapter update as soon as you can!

**Me:** Thanks. I was able to update quite a few times, but I don't want to update too frequently. This story will be more annoying than anything else if it keeps showing up on so I want people to look at for their own curiosity so it doesn't become an eyesore. Here's the chapter anyway.

- - - - -

**supercookies567:** ya my user name is funny.Thats why i used it.The storys going great!Hope you write more soon.

**Me:** Yes, your user name is funny. I'm glad your enjoying this, I'm glad this sequel is not turning out badly. I have the whole story written, but you know. I update now and then, so here you go.

* * *

Zero marched forward leading a whole army of Neo Arcadia reploids. His eyes glowed red even in the sunlight, making every single drone fear him. His first experience with Neo Arcadia was a feeling he had never felt in his body before... hate. The very thought of a human filled his mind with an urge to end the life of any that crossed his path. Even the other three guardians felt uneasy around him. Harpuia was the only one who could face him without showing signs of nervousness or fear.

Fefnir strode up to Zero. He didn't like the idea of never being able to fight Zero in combat, but at the same time his secret admiration for him made him feel superior to the other soldiers. He sort of felt proud that he could walk alongside the most powerful reploid in the whole army. Fefnir was a fighter of the three elements. Fire. His whole body was built like a giant flamethrower and he had huge limbs that were covered by thick heavy armor. He held a large cannon that emitted huge temperatures in fragments of seconds. All in all, he was rather impressive looking, despite his dull wits.

"So Zero, what's your plan of attack? Stealth run? Frontal assault?" asked Fefnir.

Zero swatted him on the back of the head "Listen here, glorified blow torch." he said "I'll let you know when I make my decision. I'm not open to suggestions."

Fefnir shrugged "Sorry. I just thought I could offer some advice, after all...I um..." his light tone slowly dropped to zero volume as

Zero glared at him incredulously. "You "thought" you could offer some advice? You're a little dumber than I thought. One- you don't think. That's for me to do, and I've warned you before about thinking. Two- I am over 100 years old. I have been fighting mavericks since your great-great grandfather was still in diapers! Who is the one who gives advice?"

Fefnir blushed and stared intently at his shoes. "Um... you." he mumbled.

"RIGHT!" Zero suddenly barked out. Fefnir jumped two feet into the air.

"Now get back to your line in the ranks you virus-plagued stove..." Fefnir was all too eager to leave. He scuttled off muttering something about two-hundred year old stories.

Leviathan strode gracefully up to him. Despite the fact that she was an enemy to the resistance, nobody could deny that she was a very beautiful reploid. Her element was water and/or ice. Unlike Fefnir, she was very slim and wielded a long powerful staff that froze anything it touched. She had blue eyes that seemed to make any regular reploid turn cold with fear. Even in her sweetness and beauty, a hidden evil lived inside that made many a reploid fall prey to her charms and end up with gruesome results later on.

"Zero we are nearing the resistance base. We are all ready for the attack, we await your command." Zero smiled. His eyes seemed to glow even brighter at the sight of her. "Very well. I believe that we'll make a full on charge at the base from here. It's no use trying a stealth run, they already know we're here."

Leviathan bowed her head slightly. "Alright then. I'll tell the other soldiers to prepare for charge."

Harpuia suddenly glided in. He landed right next to Zero and faced him "Zero that is not a wise plan." he stated firmly.

Harpuia. Sage Harpuia was his full name. There was an impressive reploid. His body was decked out in green and white armor. His armor was light but powerful. He wielded two medium sized pink sabers. His helmet was made of special material that folded back like wings. When he flew with his sabers and arms drawn apart and his helmet's fins flew out, he looked like a majestic falcon ready to mutilate any prey he encountered.

Zero raised an eyebrow. "Really? So says you. May I remind you that I am the leader and I will decided what is best to do."

Harpuia stood at eye level with Zero; apparently undaunted by Zero's gaze and superiority. "So you will, but I will remind you that despite the fact that you are an experienced fighter in your own line, you are still new to Neo Arcadian forces and it's tactics are different. And despite the fact that we have been seen, we don't want to lose any more soldiers than we have to in a reckless forward charge. Stealth movement is our best plan. I suggest you take it."

Zero was angry at being defied, but he had to agree with what Harpuia said. He nodded curtly "Very well. I'll use your plan, but I warn you. No more "suggestions" From now on I will decide what we do." he leaned in closer to Harpuia's face and his eyes glowed like laser pointers. His voice dripped with menace "Do I make myself clear?"

Harpuia was slightly intimidated by his stare, but he didn't show it. He bowed slightly "Very clear. I shall return to my troops." he took off into the air.

Leviathan saluted "I also shall return to my line in the ranks." Zero laid a hand on her shoulder. He smiled. A slick uncomfortable smile. "Leviathan... did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you are?" he fingered one of her locks of hair. "It's too bad that you have to fight like this. Someone like you should be living in a palace." For a split second, Zero's sanity snapped in and he was horrified at what he had said, but it was only a short time before his evil mind took over.

Leviathan squirmed uneasily and recoiled slightly at his touch "If you please Zero, I'll return to my post." Zero nodded and pulled his hand away. "Go then. We advance in five minutes time."

Zero fingered his Z-Saber excitedly. "And this advance will take the resistance down once and for all. Heh heh heh..."

* * *

Ciel and the rest of the resistance army went into the underground vault. It had been built especially for something like this. Ciel thought they would never had to use it. But the reality of the situation was clear. Zero alone could take out the resistance without the guardians or the army. Through the rush of soldiers Cerveau managed to get up to Ciel. He had managed to get himself clean. "Ciel we need to get a small amount of soldiers to delay their advance now! I can't tell where they are but the radar indicates that they are less than a mile away!"

Ciel grabbed at the back of her head. Stress was building up and she was getting... stressed. "Cerveau please just make sure that the soldiers don't lose their heads. I'm in enough stress as it is."

She signaled to a score of soldiers and they all lined up in front of her in two ranks. She sighed "Soldiers... I, I need you to delay the advance of the Neo Arcadian forces. Please keep in mind that you will be fighting for the entire resistances safety." her eyes began to fill with tears "It is very likely that you won't return alive. I'm sorry..."

The soldiers nodded solemnly. One soldier stepped forward. "Don't worry Miss Ciel." he said encouragingly "We understand. We will fight them back and make you proud of us. We won't go down without a fight!" the rest of the soldiers shouted their agreement. Ciel smiled gratefully "Thank you all..." the soldiers ran off to their soon to be last battle with the enemy. Ciel felt extreme hurt build up inside. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, but every time it did the pain grew worse.

She went to the control room inside the vault and closed the main door. Cerveau joined her there. He knew what had happened. "Ciel... Is there anything I can do?" he asked.

Ciel nodded "Yes. You can give Zero back to me, you can save the resistance from this attack... oh I'm sorry Cerveau. This is all too much. All this work, fighting, striving to make peace led up to this."

She sat down on the chair and leaned back. She had a grim look on her face. "I don't suppose you ever heard of a scientist named Dr. Thomas Light?"

Cerveau shook his head up and down "I did some research on him when I studied for my career as an engineer. He was the man who introduced the age of robots."

Ciel nodded "That is the man. He often said that his dream was that humans and robots would live together in peace. I... I shared that same dream myself. I looked into the records of the maverick wars and found that a maverick told Megaman X not to worry about the destruction of the planet. X's reply was that if such a thing was not worth worrying about that what he was doing held no meaning. Cerveau, can I ask you a question?"

"I'm all ears Ciel." replied Cerveau.

Ciel put the question short and sweetly. "Do you believe that is our destiny?" Cerveau crossed his arms and gave a dry laugh. "That's kind of a painted-in-the-corner question. After two centuries of war with Man's own creation and the last army of resistance about to be wiped out, I'm not so sure I can answer that. Sorry."

Ciel turned back to her controls "I can understand that Cerveau. Let's-"

Suddenly a young reploid rushed in. "Miss Ciel! Miss Ciel!" he yelled.

Ciel studied him carefully. "I know you... aren't you that soldier I met before I went on the roof a few days ago?" The soldier nodded up and down hurriedly. "Yes I am! I have some terrible news!"

Ciel stood up straight "Did we leave some soldiers outside that were not ordered too?" The soldier shook his head "No, it isn't that Miss Ciel. Something worse..."

"What?" asked Ciel.

The soldier sighed "Your daughter Alouette has been left behind!"

"WHAT!"

* * *

I'm afraid I'll have to leave you there. Sorry. By the way, I won't be able to post any new chapters to this story for almost ten days. I hate to leave you here at this point in the story, really I am. Please review, I'll post a new chapter as soon as possible. See ya! 


	8. Ciel To The Rescue!

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Zero is now the harsh commander of Neo Arcadia and Ciel's under alot of stress, and now finding out her daughter, well sister, has been left behind only made things worse. Something's going to clash and soon. Great chapter Matt. :) Please update soon. :)

Oh by the way, the second chapter to my new story should be out soon. Hopefully. :)

Alisi T.

**Me:** Since I got back from Bible School I will be able to update much more often. Sorry, but there was no internet stuff at the school, it was just a day thing. As you know, I'll be reading up on it as soon as I can. I hope you like this chapter!

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**Lightning Edgeman Zero:** You really have made Zero go mad. Col. :P By the way I got the Megaman Zero 4 game. Cool but short... too short. You're welcome for the ideas I sent you about Bass's Reality. update soon.

**Me:** Yeah, I played Megaman Zero 4 too. It was really cool, but too short. :-) I hope they release another one very soon.

Yeah, I most likely will be tring that 1/2 idea. Keep an eye out, you may spot it. :-)

Here's the chapter. It's much longer than I at first intended, but the chapters split apart would have been horrible. Please Review if you can, and feel free to submit new Bass's Reality ideas!

* * *

Ciel covered her face with her hands and looked away. Cerveau froze where he stood. Ciel almost began to cry "Not again! Oh how could I have forgotten her!" she went to her computer and checked the location of the enemy army. "There won't be enough time to retrieve her before they get here! Oh no, what will I do?"

The soldier bravely flipped on his blaster. He stood straight and tall "I will go Miss Ciel!" he volunteered.

Ciel refused "No, it's too dangerous for you. Besides I can't risk opening the security door again, they might invade us too quickly if we were discovered."

Cerveau hit his fist on the desk. "Ciel come on! Who else are you going to get to volunteer to save Alouette? If you refuse him how are you going to persuade someone else? Don't waste the sacrifice Zero made Ciel..."

Ciel looked up at them both. She really wanted to say yes. She didn't want to lose her sister. But she would be endangering the entire resistance if she allowed it. She stood up and took the blaster from the soldier. "I cannot allow you to go, but… I will go. I must."

The soldier looked shocked "**You** Miss Ciel? But, but..."

Cerveau tried to reason with her "Please Ciel, you are too valuable to the resistance to risk going out there. You aren't even an experienced fighter!"

Ciel clenched her teeth together "No! I must go. I'm so tired of having other people do my fighting for me. I am going to rescue my sister now. Cerveau I'm leaving the management of the resistance in your hands. If you don't receive a communications from me in 2 hours, ignore any and every attempt to enter this vault."

Cerveau opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped. He dropped his hands to his sides and nodded reluctantly.

"Alright. But please Ciel, come back alive..."

Ciel smiled. "I'll try. Maybe I can get a transerver down here if I'm lucky."

Cerveau went to a locker and took out a small box. He handed it to her "Take these. They should help you if you're in a fix."

Ciel took it. "Thanks. Wish me luck! Only open the door about two feet high. No more than I need it." She ran off for the door holding her blaster tight.

Cerveau shook his head dejectedly and operated the controls "Fancy her going off and leaving me with all the responsibility..." he grumbled.

The soldier shrugged "Mr. Cerveau, think of it as an honor. She trusts you with taking care of the entire resistance. That shows a great deal of trust in my opinion sir."

Cerveau brightened up and smiled "You know what? You are exactly right!" he began punching different buttons and bringing up maps of the area. He switched on the intercom. "Attention resistance soldiers! Please keep your guard up and your eyes and ears to the door for any penetration attacks!"

He swung around in his chair and smiled at the soldier "Say you know what? I think I'm beginning to like being in charge already!"

* * *

Ciel rolled underneath the huge door and got back up. She silently made her way down the corridors of the base. It was extremely quiet considering there was nobody there but her. She stared longingly back at the vault. She sniffed and wiped away a tear, waving back at the closing door.

"Goodbye." she whispered. She knew she might never get back there again. She kept looking on her electronic map. She couldn't see any blips on it yet. It seemed that nobody had invaded the base yet. Still, she kept her blaster charged and didn't release the shot.

She finally found the elevator. She was a little nervous about using it, but since there wasn't any enemies inside she decided it would be safe. She punched in the "data" floor code and the elevator rose up. She rubbed her forehead. She was already sweating nervously. It didn't make sense that there wouldn't be any enemies about.

Suddenly a blip sounded from her map. She whipped it out and checked it. Hm, she didn't see anything. She probably pushed a button while it was in her pocket.

When she was about two floors from the Data floor, she suddenly saw the elevator signal for later arrival on another floor. Someone else was trying to use the elevator! "Come on... stop moving!" she thought nervously.

The elevator kept on moving past the Data floor! She took out her mini computer and tapped into the control panel. "Computer! Please override latest command to main floor now!" The control panel beeped a few times then a computer voice spoke: "Override acknowledged. Returning to Data floor now."

Ciel sighed in relief. The elevator began moving downward. When it opened she walked out and ran down the hallway towards her lab. She held out her map. To her surprise she saw blips all over the base! She couldn't hear anything though. She gripped her blaster and held it up to destroy any drone that may appear.

---

Fefnir walked into the elevator and set it for the Data floor. If someone had been going there and overrode his command, then it must be someone important. The cloaking devices they had been equipped with were working to almost perfection! He turned to one of his soldiers that was following him close by. "You know what? If we had these cloaking devices earlier, we probably wouldn't even need Zero to help take over this base."

The soldier nodded "They are pretty good sir, except something seems not to be concealed."

Fefnir swerved around. "What?" he demanded.

The soldier gulped "Um... sound sir. We may be heard by them."

Fefnir laughed. "Ha! We snuck past those resort soldiers earlier without any trouble. This should be a piece of cake."

The soldier shook his head "I don't think we did. They seemed to sense our presence. It might not work. It could show up on their computer security..."

Fefnir bumped him on the head with his cannon "Knock it off will ya? You might make us noticed by talking so much." the elevator opened and they stepped out into the data floor. Thankfully the elevator had landed on the opposite end of the hallway and they didn't see Ciel.

---

Ciel's ears picked up the noise of the elevator door opening. She froze where she stood and saw that the elevator at the other end of the hallway opened up! She quickly ducked behind a door post.

The soldier briefly saw Ciel's hair flowing as she jumped out of sight. "Sir!" he said "I think I saw someone just now! Up ahead!" Fefnir aimed his cannon and kept walking forward. "I hope it was that engineer. I'll teach him to throw bombs at me!"

* * *

Ciel stood still. She could very faintly hear footsteps and voices. She didn't dare take out her map to check. The voices began to die down and she thought they took another path. She stuck her head out and didn't see anybody there. She walked carefully out. It was only ten doors to her lab now...

-

The soldier saw Ciel stick her head out and he almost called out but Fefnir jolted him by the soldier "Keep quiet you fool! We don't want them seeing us." the soldier turned his face away from the hallway and stood indignantly in front of Fefnir. "Sir I have seen someone there. It could very well be an enemy. I'll complain to Zero if I have to!"

Fefnir and the soldier circled each other.

-

Ciel kept walking on. She still couldn't see anything, but she seemed to hear the footsteps and voices grow louder. She walked faster on down the hallway, only five doors now!

-

Fefnir grabbed the soldier by the throat "Why you insolent worm! Do you think I tolerate such behavior?" the soldier gagged at Fefnir's grip. He could see Ciel walking closer to them. He tried to speak but all that came out was a strained gurgle. Ciel walked past his line of vision and he couldn't see which door she chose.

-

Ciel heard the sounds getting louder. She finally ran the last three doors and got in. Totally unaware that she had just walked by a guardian and a Neo Arcadian soldier!

* * *

Ciel breathed a sigh of relief when she shut the door to her lab. She went to the bed and found Alouette sitting there looking very miserable. She reached out for Ciel with one hand; She was holding the bunny in the other. "Ciel! Where have you been? I'm so lonely."

Ciel picked up Alouette. "I'm sorry Alouette. Please try to be quiet now, we are in real danger here." Alouette looked quizzically at her "Why?"

Ciel sighed "Shhh now Alouette. We need to be very quiet." she opened the door and walked out very slowly.

"STOP HER!" Ciel heard the shout loudly and clearly. She set Alouette down and aimed her blaster down the hallway. A shot suddenly appeared and nearly hit Ciel. She let her pre-charged shot fire and it exploded in the middle of the hallway, revealing a drone! She grabbed Alouette's hand and began to run.

---

Fefnir looked in the direction the soldier pointed. There was Ciel! The soldier fired a shot that missed her. Ciel retaliated and fired a shot that hit him dead on. Fefnir sneered in disgust at the smoking reploid "Worthless bug." he muttered. He ran after Ciel. Surprisingly Ciel was a pretty fast runner. However if he could just fire a charged flame, Ciel and her sister would be toast.

Ciel whipped out her mini-map and saw that all the blips were converging on that corridor! She had to get to the elevator! Alouette tripped and fell. Ciel ran back to help her up. She began to see a red shape running towards her. She couldn't make out what it was, but it wasn't anybody rushing to give her a hug. She opened the box that Cerveau gave her. It contained a few cyber-elfs and some bombs. She quickly took one and hurled it at Fefnir and dragged Alouette towards the elevator.

Fefnir felt a staggering blow hit him dead on. It suddenly seemed like half of his energy was gone! He fell to his knees panting heavily. He signaled his whole troop of soldiers to his position. They all stood and saluted.

"Sir! something is going wrong with our stealth devices! We have been sighted all throughout the base!" said one of the recruits.

Fefnir held his arm and stood up. "Something must have gone wrong. Go after them you idiots!" he yelled. The soldiers all barreled down the hallway yelling and shooting their guns.

---

Ciel heard the soldiers charging. She slammed her fist down on the elevator door. It opened immediately. She ran inside with Alouette, but not before several blaster shots hurtled by and hit Ciel behind the shoulder. She cried out in pain and collapsed. Alouette bent down and pulled on her arm "Ciel get up please! They'll get us!" Ciel struggled to her feet and hit the button on the control panel. The door slid shut and the shots hit against it.

Ciel clutched at her shoulder and tears slid down her face. It was the first time she had been shot with a blaster. The pain was hot and searing. She moved her hand back and saw that it was covered with blood. She slowly put in the code for the transerver and sat down breathing heavily. Alouette looked at Ciel's shoulder

"Oh Ciel! You're hurt!" she cried.

Ciel nodded. "Yes- I... am. Don't worry about it though." Alouette took off her shoe and took her sock. She tied it around the wound.

Ciel winced and smiled "Thanks Alouette. I sure hope you got that sock on today though." She took out her mini-map and checked for blips on it. Some were on the floor directly in front of the elevator! She couldn't possibly use her blaster now. She reached into the box and took out a bomb. Once the door opened she was confronted by Leviathan and several of her own soldiers. She threw the bomb with all her might at them She almost smiled in satisfaction as Leviathan and her soldiers flew about in the explosion.

"That's what you get!" she yelled as she ran by, limping slightly at her wound. Leviathan was a water dwelling reploid and the heat from the explosion did not feel very good. She fell against the wall gasping for some cool air. The other soldiers didn't seem too well off either. Two were destroyed and three were wounded.

Leviathan got back up and dashed down the hallway after them. "Don't think you can take me down that easy!" she shouted.

Ciel could see the transerver ahead, only thirty feet! Leviathan was a much faster runner though, and she quickly caught up with them. She grabbed Ciel and held her staff at her neck. "You will pay for that!" she menaced.

Ciel braced herself for the thrust, but it never came. Instead a powerful shot struck Leviathan in the head and she was jolted backwards. Ciel looked to see Alouette with a cyber-elf hovering above her. She released the elf completely and it fired constant shots at Leviathan.

Ciel took Alouette and gave her a kiss "Good girl Alouette! Now let's go!" they made it to the transerver. Inside Ciel hooked up her mini computer to the Transerver console. She began pushing buttons and speaking commands "Computer, prepare to initialize transfer of current inhibiters. Also begin ultra transfer sequence to all transferring devices and units." the transerver began to glow. A computer voice spoke "Affirmative. Transfer of all units and current inhibiters will commence in ten seconds. 10...9...8..."

Ciel wrung her hands together. She could see on her mini map that several large blips were coming to the transerver room. She held up another bomb and waited.

"7...6...5..."

She made Alouette duck down. It was going to be close if they got away at all.

"4..."

She could hear the pounding footsteps outside the other doors leading to the transferring room.

"3...2...1..."

The doors suddenly burst open and Harpuia and Fefnir and Leviathan appeared in the room!

"Transfer!" said the computer. Ciel and Alouette beamed out, along with the transerver- and every other transerver in the base!

Stupidly, Fefnir and Leviathan and Harpuia all shot hurled or fired whatever they had at the machine, and ended up hitting each other instead!

Harpuia hit the wall and dropped one of his sabers. "You blew it Leviathan!" he yelled. Leviathan got up from the floor "I did not, you did!" she shot back. They all continued shouting at each other while Ciel and Alouette arrived back in the vault.


	9. Vanished

**Alisi Thorndyke: **Hey Matt. :) You did a great job with this chapter. :) Ciel knew how dangerous the mission was going to be, but she took the risk anyway just to save her family. :) She reminds me so much of myself. Oh snap, she might be my long lost twin lol. J/K, but you did a great job. :)

Oh and when you review my chapter 2, tell me what ideas you may have for chapter 3 or what you think I could place in chapter 3. I have some ideas myself. I'll email them to you later and about Bass's Reality 1/2 I'm kind of stumped about that one, but if you send me the ideas you were given, I can try to come up with some of my own to help it along. :)

Well, talk to you later. :)

Alisi T.

**Me:** Thanks a lot. I'm glad you liked that part with Ciel going for Alouette. I didn't want her to be a helpless, do nothing at all. I wanted there to be a moment in this story that shows she is also brave and willing to risk her life as well.

We already talked about the Bass's Reality thing and such. I think that the idea that in the summary of chapters, we would leave a little dedication notice. It sounds like a great idea. :-)

- - -

**Lightening Edgeman ZERO:** Another good chapter. Believe me I've read longer stories some taking me hours to get through on chapter of many. I can't wait till next chapter!

PS:I agree with yee Megaman Zero 4 is way to short I've allready beaten the game several times in all modes.

**Me:** Well here is the next chapter. Sorry it took so long to upload, but a flu/sickness has been going around in my family the past week or so, and it's been awfully hampering to my writing. But here it is, I hope you like it!

- - -

**supercookies567:** Very good i read the last and this chapter just now.This is a very great story. I like it how Zero turns evil

**Me:** I'm afraid I didn't really enjoy making him evil. Strictly speaking, he is not evil, it's just the evil control he has. I'm glad you think it's such a great story, I really do. :-)

Sorry to everyone for not updating earlier like I'd promised. A virus has been spreading through my family, and that has been a really big issue. We had to cancel a vacation trip because of it :-(. I hope you all really like this chapter, and drop a review if you can!

* * *

The control room shone in a bright yellow glow. Cerveau put his mask on and tried to make out what it was that was transferring in. At first it just looked like the transerver itself. But then the glow began larger and more intense. The whole room was filled with things beaming inside it.

The soldier aimed his blaster at one, then at the other. Cerveau held up a warning hand to him. "Don't fire unless I say so!" he commanded.

When the intense glow finally vanished, in it's place stood every single transerver there was in the entire base! Cerveau looked at them all confused. "Why are all these here? And... where's Ciel?"

His question was answered right then. One of the transervers glowed inside it and Ciel and Alouette appeared. Cerveau rushed up to greet them.

"Ciel! I'm glad your back alive!" he said.

Alouette pointed to Ciel "I think she's hurt." she said.

Cerveau looked at Ciel "Are you hurt Ciel? You don't look terribly well." Ciel nodded and dropped everything she was carrying.

"I... phew! Need some... help." she whispered grasping at her shoulder.

"Soldier, please take Miss Ciel to a place where she can lie down!" said Cerveau. The young soldier nodded and helped Ciel into some living quarters for reploids. Cerveau switched his intercom to the medical station. "Medics! Please report to living quarters immediately! Bring tools sufficient to repair a blaster wound. Out."

---

The young soldier put Ciel's good arm over his shoulder and took her to some reploid beds. Normally a reploid would stay in an energy capsule, but some actually did prefer to lie on a mattress. They weren't however the most soft things in the world for humans. "I'm sorry Miss Ciel." he said apologetically "It's all we have."

Ciel just sighed "That's perfectly alright. As long as I can lie down." She lay down on the mattress and sighed "Oooh that's better." she said.

The soldier remained by the side. "If there's anything you need me to do Miss Ciel just ask."

Ciel smiled at him. "Thank you. What's your name by the way?" she asked.

"Enzan." he replied.

"Well Enzan, I don't have anything for you to do at the moment... except, please ask Cerveau to come here please." the soldier saluted smartly "On my way ma'am!" he ran off as fast as he could.

---

Outside the vault in the normal recesses of the resistance base, Zero was chewing them all out for their failure. "How could you let a small female and a young girl make fools out of you guardians? All you had to do was kill them! How difficult is that?"

Fefnir stared at the floor. "They had some cyber-elfs sir. One of them drained half my energy!"

Zero smacked him on the back of the head. "So what? If you're going to let one cyber-elf get you down, then you aren't fit to be a guardian."

Something about what he said made all the guardians jerk suddenly. They all regained their normal composure though. Zero looked at them disgustedly. "Can't any of you even stand up straight?"

Harpuia stepped forward. He had had enough of this belittling. "Sir, if you remember from our report, We succeeded in securing all floors. Also I didn't even know about Ciel being in the base. I rushed to the situation as fast as possible."

Zero ignored him and looked at Leviathan. "And you! What were you trying to prove running after Ciel? Why didn't you just use your staff?"

Leviathan bit her lip nervously. "I uh.. I- I uh..." she stammered.

Zero drew his hand back for a slap, but Harpuia grabbed his wrist. "SIR! This is not our prime objective now. We must find out where the resistance is hiding."

Zero jerked his wrist away and punched Harpuia in the chin. He flew back against the wall. "I have told you already! Do not interfere with me again." he turned back to Leviathan. Leviathan looked fearfully at him. After what he did to Harpuia, she sure didn't want the same to happen to herself.

Zero smiled. "Oh you don't need to worry about being slapped. I just needed something to vent my annoyance on. And I trust in the future that you won't give me reason for that will you?"

Leviathan stepped back and began to shake. "Never." was all she could say. Zero finally relented and turned back to Harpuia, who was still rubbing his chin.

"Harpuia. I want you to regroup the soldiers and order them all to make their way to the lower levels of this base."

Harpuia looked quizzically at him "Why sir? Not that I'm questioning you, but why?"

Zero waved his hand in the air "Oh you will find out." muttered Zero "Right now just do as I say. I know exactly where they're hiding."

* * *

"You did that?" asked Ciel in awe.

Cerveau nodded smiling proudly "Yep. I knew you couldn't do it alone, so I stepped up the volume of what we could catch from the bad guys and broadcasted it throughout the bases intercomes. Those cloaking devices aren't the best sound barriers, so it was perfectly easy. Even making them visually visible to you wasn't that hard. I used lights all over the base to show where the enemies were."

Ciel drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sometimes, Cerveau could be amazing. "Cerveau, I promise never to call you a coffee addict again. Thank you so much for your help."

Cerveau's face turned red and he shrugged. "Aw it was nothing. Just pure genius was all it took."

Alouette walked up to the bed and showed her the box Cerveau gave Ciel. It was empty. "Poor little elves..." whimpered Alouette. Ciel gave Alouette a hug. "Don't worry. We had to use them you know."

Then she turned to Cerveau "Cerveau, where did you get that Cyber-elf that stopped Fefnir? It must have been extremely powerful."

Cerveau cleared his throat and put his hands behind his back. "That one, er yes. Um-ahem well, it was a boss elf. It had the capabilities of cutting the energy of a boss in half. I was saving it for... a while."

Ciel looked with concern at Cerveau. It was apparent that he must have had that elf for a long time. Cerveau cleared his throat again "Well I'm glad it could help you." Ciel sat up in her bed and patted him on the arm. "I am too. Thank you for letting me use it. I owe you for this."

Cerveau nodded and walked away. Then he stopped and turned around. "You do? Well, let's see. Could you do me a favor Ciel?"

Ciel lay her head back and sighed. "We don't have anything like coffee here Cerveau."

Cerveau shook his head in annoyance. Partly because it was disappointing that they didn't have coffee, but also because that wasn't the reason he was talking.

"It has nothing to do with that Ciel, I-... we don't have any coffee? Oh never mind. I thought since we had some transervers I could go back to the Tower."

Ciel scoffed. This was not funny "Absolutely not Cerveau. We need all the help we can get here. Besides, Megaman X is not there."

Cerveau sighed "Alright, if that's what you think fine." He strode about looking just depressed and... mischievous. It was like he knew something. That particular something that you can see someone else knows, but you don't know. And then you feel like you must know at any cost.

"Fine. It's apparent that you know something that I don't know." said Ciel. "If you think you know where Megaman X is, please tell me." Cerveau dashed over to the side of the bed like lightning. "Good, I was sure you would change your mind."

"When I saw how the hole in the ceiling and the missing piece of the floor perfectly aligned, I thought they had something to do with each other. I was wrong. They had nothing in coherence with each other. The floor had to have been dragged out the way it broke. But the piece was not there!"

Ciel nodded "Yes yes? What of it?"

"If Zero saw Elpizo strike with a saber, then Megaman X must have been blown backwards! Back into the..."

Ciel stopped him. Her eyes grew wide and she scrambled out of bed. "Cerveau you truly are a genius! We'll both go. We and a couple of soldiers with my portable computer equipment. I'm able to walk now, that cyber-elf the nurses gave me healed me up pretty well. Oh Cerveau you are a magician!"

Cerveau shook his head looking perfectly aloof "Oh no. Just a super, ultra, mega smart, intelligent engineer with a blow torch. That's all!"

* * *

Zero and the other guardians stood at the door of the vault. Zero had known about this vault before it was even built. The possibility of emergency precautions made Ciel decide that a special vault should be made to protect them against heavy attacks. It was very strong and heavily armored, but if all the guardians attacked and all the drones, they could break through in a matter of minutes.

Zero turned to his army "Attention all reploids of Neo Arcadia! Behind this vault lies all that remains of the mavericks and others that endanger us. Other times you have failed, but now is the time to end all those times. Remember that we fight not for our own safety, but for those in Neo Arcadia who depend on us. Once I give you the word, I want every single reploid to launch it's attack on this vault. Do whatever you can. Only this door lies between us and the resistance. Am I clear?"

Every reploid yelled aloud "Very clear sir Zero! We are at your command!" Zero smiled and his red glowing eyes shone brighter than ever. He drew his Z-Saber and turned back to the vault.

"I must stop..." Zero thought in panic. His good side was always trying hard to regain control, but it was always beaten back by the dark forces of evil. His sanity lasted less than half a second however, and he quickly forgot that he had thought anything.

"Very well... now- forward! Lord Weeeeeeiiiilll!" he shouted. All the other soldiers repeated his cry and charged forward. Each and every drone shooting and firing whatever they had. The door shook as it absorb the ferocious attacks.

---

Meanwhile Ciel and Cerveau were preparing themselves to transfer to the Tower. They were only going to take four soldiers with them. All the alarms began blaring loudly as the vault was attacked.

A soldier ran up panting "pant-pant Ciel! The vault is being attacked! pant pant we are taking severe damage. I estimate at least forty minutes before the door is destroyed!"

Ciel felt like tearing her hair out. "Oh no…!" she moaned.

Cerveau grabbed her arm "Come on! We have to hurry if we want to survive!"

Ciel sighed and reluctantly followed. She sort of felt guilty for leaving her soldiers behind there. She felt like she ought to stay to encourage her soldiers. Still, she knew that if they didn't have Megaman X, they were all pretty likely to get slaughtered. She hurried into one of the transervers. "Hurry and transfer! Soldier, I will be back as soon as possible. Tell um... Enzan. Tell Enzan to keep the soldiers under control."

The soldier looked unbelievingly at her "Enzan? But he is so... reckless!" Ciel shook her head firmly. "I won't have anybody else do it. Do as your told now!" the soldier reluctantly ran off.

----------

Zero sliced and hacked at the thick armor. The vault was stronger than even he expected, but it wouldn't take long to break through. "Come on!" he yelled to the army. "We should break through in no time!"

Harpuia slashed at the vault with his two sabers. He hurled whiplashes of energy from his blades at the failing door. A drone suddenly ran up to him. "Master Harpuia! he yelled over the mayhem.

"Yes what is it?" said Harpuia. The drone held up a notepad.

"We've just detected an outgoing transfer sir! It appears to have been locked onto these coordinates!" Harpuia read the notepad. He shoved it back into the drone's hands.

"Don't bother me with that soldier! It means nothing, it means- wait... No... it can't be! He couldn't possibly be- existing!"

"You! Take fifty drones and transfer to these coordinates under my orders."

The drone nodded and --- droned off. Harpuia resumed his attacks. No matter how impossible it sounded, the original X could not possibly still exist. He had heard from reports that he had been destroyed by a sick-minded Elpizo.

"Still" he thought "It doesn't hurt to make sure. Once they arrive at the tower their lives won't be worth snap- that!" he snapped his fingers and hurled more saber slashes forward.

---

Ciel and Cerveau transferred in. Cerveau ran forward instantly to the seal. He stopped when he was about seven feet away and looked at Ciel anxiously "Ciel... do you think that any other things might be..."

Ciel shook her head reassuringly "No Cerveau. The Dark Elf would have destroyed it anyway."

Cerveau breathed a sigh of relief and walked up to the seal. It was a little bigger than he at first expected. He would have to be twenty feet tall to look into it. Ciel walked up to him and whistled "Wow, it's going to take a long time to get up there."

Cerveau rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Could we climb?" he asked.

Ciel shook her head "I don't think so. Not on the seal at least, but maybe on the railing supports. But we need to hurry Cerveau. We don't even know if he's in there!"

Cerveau motioned for the soldiers to begin climbing the supports. They all did so using extremely temporary cyber-elfs to carry them upwards. The soldiers finally reached the breach in the seal and peered in. "We don't see anything sir!" reported one of the soldiers.

Cerveau's jaw dropped open. "What! But- but..." he looked up at them. "What do you mean you can't see anything?"

The soldier shrugged "It's extremely dark down there sir. Even with this light shining into it; nothing is visible." Cerveau sat down on the floor looking totally dejected. Ciel walked over and patted Cerveau on the shoulder. "I'm sorry Cerveau. It was a good idea after all."

Cerveau jumped back to his feet. He began climbing the supports himself. "I'm going to look for myself!" he said. The soldiers at the top looked at each other and shook their heads sadly "Sir there is nothing here." one of them repeated.

Cerveau climbed relentlessly. Ciel walked up to the support and called up to him "Please Cerveau, don't overreact!" Cerveau ignored them all. He made the supports shake with his vigorous climbing.

The soldiers at the top began to get nervous "Sir please be careful! We might lose our balance!" Cerveau still would not listen. He finally reached the top and shoved the soldiers out of the way. All but one of them fell off crashing to the floor. They all got back up groaning and rubbing themselves. "Cerveau this is enough!" shouted Ciel "Stop this now!"

Cerveau looked down into the seal. It was very odd. He couldn't see a single thing except... dark. He couldn't see the bottom of the seal through it. He reached out his hand to the black essence.

It… it disappeared inside! He pulled back quickly and his hand was once again there. He wiped his forehead "Phew that was close... but, what is down there?"

He turned to Ciel "I'm going to jump in!" he called as he scrambled onto the broken ledge.

Ciel grabbed the supports and shook them hard "No don't Cerveau! How would you get out?" she called. Cerveau ignored her again and leapt into the seal. He disappeared completely.

They didn't hear any sound. Not even of him hitting the bottom of the seal. Ciel looked up at the soldier nervously "Well? What is he doing?"

The soldier shrugged and looked confused into the seal "I don't know ma'am."

Ciel looked at him incredulously "What do you mean you don't know? Can't you see him?" the soldier shook his head. "No ma'am, he's gone."

Ciel stared up at him in total confusement. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" the bewildered soldier looked down at her.

"He just... vanished!"


	10. 2nd Resurrection

Hi everybody. Everytime I try to post it always gets away from me. Here is another chapter that should be sufficient for a while. I'm really grateful for all the reviews I've recieved from you people, it really is encouraging. Thanks Alisi :-) Here are my review responses.

* * *

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great job with this chapter and sorry that my review is late coming behind the email. i got called away from the computer. But you did do a great job. Zero has completely become evil and Cerveau is playing the part of the hero, but yet he can't get away from his coffee addiction lol. :)

Did you know you named the soilder that helped Ciel after Chaud Blaze's Japanese name? Ezan is Chaud's name in Japanese, which I find amusing lol, but still.

Well, update soon. :)

Alisi T.

**Me:** Thanks. Don't worry about the late review, I only checked my e-mail right after you sent both things, so I was never feeling impatient or anything like that. :-)

Cerveau's little coffee addiction is something I thought of myself. It became very funny and it added to his character. Something I wish I could write more often to make the characters more interesting. (By the way, Cerveau's name is pronounced: _Sare_ as in Sarah, and _veau_ is pronounced _voe_, like the word_ foe_. _Sarevoe_. I think it's a french name.)

- - - - -

**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** Interesting, Cerveau disappeared inside the Dark Elf's seal. You make good twists in you're stories. Makes me want to read more:P

**Me:** I'm glad it does. You'll like this chapter a lot if you liked Cerveau's disappearence. I hope your not too angry about this extremely late update.

* * *

Cerveau leap into the darkness. It seemed to swallow him up and leave any sign of him visually or audibly completely hidden. He felt like he was continually falling, even though he had already landed on the bottom of the seal. He looked up to where he jumped, but he could see nothing at all. He walked to the left, but he couldn't feel himself moving. He couldn't even see his own hands in front of him. It was scary, even in the darkest place you can see your hand waving in front of yourself.

It was like the darkness was some kind of substance. He could almost feel it like a submerged person feels water. But it was not wet. Nor was it clear. It was... evil. It seemed like the very fact that the Dark Elf was here for so long left some kind of initial darkness there. He tried walking but couldn't feel like he was traveling anywhere. He was beginning to sweat. He switched on a light in his visor but he couldn't see anything before him. He waved his hand as if trying to clear away the clouds of black mist that surrounded him.

He sat down. He felt so lost and alone. He yelled for Ciel but no reply came. His voice seemed contained almost. He could hear it ringing off the walls yet never escaping the containment of the darkness. He almost began to cry. He was getting scared. I mean really scared. "Can't anybody hear me!" He hugged himself tightly and ground his teeth together. He had to do something! He wished he had never jumped in. He fell to his knees and a small sob escaped him.

Clunk His ears perked up. What was that? He looked around but he couldn't see a thing. It was a noise though, and that meant that something had to make it! Well that was kind of obvious, but now he had to figure out what it was. He fumbled about on the floor looking for it. Aha! He found it! It was his blow torch. "Aw what good is this going to do me?" he said and flung it away contemptuously. It let out a burst of flares. Cerveau jumped back. He would have to stop doing that!

But then he noticed that it provided some kind of light. He picked it back up and turned it on. The flames burst out. It seemed to create a glow which seemed to cut through the evil essence. He was beginning to see! He turned it up to full power and directed it around. His eyes caught something. Something blue. He walked over to it and ran his hand over it. Metal. He clunked his knuckles on it. Titanium. Light-weight titanium. He blew his torch in the air over it. He could see a large body of blue colored armor. His heart leapt into his throat!

He threw back his head and yelled aloud "Yaaahoooooooooo!"

- - - - -

The soldier jumped when he heard Cerveau's yell. The torch must have provided some sound to escape. He fell off his position on the supports and crashed to the ground landing on his bottom right next to Ciel. She jumped back but then ran up to him. "What was that? Is Cerveau really down there?" the soldier just groaned and rubbed his rear-end. Ciel saw the hooked end of Cerveau's blow torch clamp on the edge of the seal ledge. She could hear some super exerted grunting and heaving. Then Cerveau's head popped up and peered over the edge.

"Ciel you won't believe what I've just found!" he called. He got onto the ledge and pulled on the thing he was carrying. A blue leg appeared over the edge. Ciel's face turned white as a sheet. "Cerveau, that isn't..." she couldn't finish. Cerveau finally succeeded in pulling the whole thing over the edge. They didn't get a good view of it because once it was finally over it fell off the edge pulling Cerveau along with it. "Yaaaah!" screamed Cerveau as he and his prize hit the floor.

Ciel ran over to him and inspected his find. Her hands trembled as she ran her hands over the sapphire colored plates. Cerveau recovered from his fall and raised his head smiling dazedly. "Pretty sharp huh?" he mumbled. Ciel grabbed him and hugged him hard. "Cerveau our problems are as good as gone now thanks to you!" she cried. Cerveau blushed slightly and rubbed his head. "Aw shucks..."

Ciel looked him right in the eye. She whispered in a tone full of awe and fascination. "This is incredible Cerveau. For surely- this is the legendary maverick hunter Megaman X!"

* * *

Back at the resistance Enzan was giving orders out like a faucet gave water. He was doing a fairly good job at keeping the soldiers calm, but it seemed like only five minutes would pass before they would lose their order. "Everyone charge your blasters and prepare to shoot once the door is broken down!" all the soldiers acknowledged and began charging their blasters and aimed at the door. Enzan smiled. If anything, the first soldiers who came in would be liquidated!

One soldier ran up to him. "Sir, Sir!" he yelled. Enzan looked at him disgustedly "What is the matter with you soldier? Can't you see I'm busy here?" The soldier glared at him. They were both of equal rank and it didn't seem fair that he could hand out orders to him. "I sure can. We are receiving a message from Ciel! They need to be transferred right away."

Enzan didn't seem to hear him. He pointed to another soldier "Hey you! Get some more weapons, I want every single gun trained on that door!" The soldier growled something under his breath and shook him by the arm "Listen Enzan! We need," Enzan threw his hand off "Knock it off now will ya?" he yelled. "Get a blaster or whatever you need. We need as many soldiers as we-"

The soldier grabbed Enzan and jerked him down to his height and shouted right in his face "MISS CIEL AND CERVEAU NEED TO BE TRANSFERRED NOW!" Enzan stared in bewilderment at him- then ran off to the control room. "Well why didn't you say so?" he said. The soldier sighed exasperatedly and ran off to get a blaster.

Enzan went to one of the transervers and punched in some buttons. The transerver glowed again and Cerveau and Ciel and the soldiers appeared. They were all carrying a large blue reploid. They ran over to the control panel and hooked him up to the machine. "What happened back there?" he asked.

Ciel ran some energy wires into X's buster. She turned on the machine and energy began flowing in. "We had little time before the whole tower would be full of drones." Enzan's eyes widened in excitement. "Really? What did you do to them?"

Cerveau whipped out his tools and began fixing Megaman up as fast as possible. "I don't think we'll need to worry about them. I hooked up a chain reaction of bombs in the tower. He he he. They actually triggered it off by themselves. There is nothing left of that tower except the stairway to the top." He took out is blow torch and welded down a bit of armor. "I only need two minutes and I can repair his armor." he said.

Enzan sighed "We don't have that long Mr. Cerveau. The enemy will break through in thirty seconds." Cerveau looked grimly at Ciel. "Ciel go to the soldiers. I must have two minutes and it should be finished. But they need you now." Ciel nodded. She wiped a tear from her eye. "I know." she said quietly. "See you later Cerveau." she ran off to the soldiers and Enzan ran after. Cerveau worked as fast and as skillfully as he could. "I hope you do." he thought.

* * *

Back at the door every single soldier had his or her blaster trained on the door which was about to give way. Ciel stood slightly above her soldiers and spoke encouragingly to them. Each soldier was trembling slightly and their foreheads practically glistened with sweat. A hole suddenly burst through the door. Ciel didn't give the order to fire yet. She wanted to wait until the whole door fell. She looked at her watch. one and a half minute to go. Hurry Cerveau!

Finally at long last the entire door fell down with an earth shattering crash. Dust flew everywhere and pieces of ceiling fell down. Some soldiers bent their heads low to avoid the shards of metal and chunks of damaged door armor.

A mad charge of Neo Arcadian drones, flying insectoids, and armored fighters charged in shooting everywhere! The reploid charge was just as amazing. All of their charged shots shot down the first three ranks of soldiers. They ran forward using stun sticks, blasters, whatever they could. It was insane mayhem! Each reploid fighting like mad to destroy each other. Ciel would have turned away, but she had to stay confident for the soldiers.

"Give them everything we have!" she yelled. "Don't hold back or retreat! Hold them off!"

**&&&&&&&&&**

Cerveau laid another plate of armor down. It shouldn't take long now. Just another forty-five seconds. If he had that many. He tried to speed up his work as best as he could. The longer he took the more danger they had of losing soldiers.

**&&&&&&&&&&**

"Don't give up. Keep fighting!" cried Ciel. They were already beginning to lose soldiers. The guardians had joined their drones and were taking down soldiers easily. Zero stood by watching. He was enjoying watching this as much as he would fighting, but he wanted to stand by and egg on his soldiers. "Come on you worthless lot, they can't take us all!" he yelled.

Suddenly his ears picked up some kind of disturbance towards the back of the ranks. He looked to see a large squad of soldiers shooting into the backs of the drones. He drew his saber. Where on earth did these men come from? He dashed forward to get them. The soldiers noticed him and began firing at him. To Zero it would be easy to eliminate such weaklings, but something seemed to drive them on. He knew what it was, but something kept him from fully realizing it.

**&&&&&&&&&&**

Ciel looked at her watch again. Twenty seconds to go. She despaired in her mind what was happening at the moment. She was losing several reploids already. Probably over a dozen by now. The resistance soldiers were beaten back and they began to go down easier. Suddenly, she could hear a loud commotion from the back. She looked over the drones and saw a large squad of men attacking the reploids from behind. She could feel courage build up inside. It was the men she had sent to slow their advance on the base! They must have not even seen the drones coming!

But then she saw something that sickened her. She saw Zero running up to them with his Z-Saber drawn. She almost felt like throwing up. She couldn't bear to see Zero attack the resistance! Good and faithful Zero attacking those whom he had stood by for years. He didn't seem to be able to get too close though. The soldiers fought hard to keep him back, but at the same time she hated to see Zero getting hurt. She looked at her watch again. Twenty seconds had passed! What was keeping Cerveau?

**&&&&&&&&&**

Cerveau finally welded down the last piece of armor and the energy flow was complete. He quickly pushed the activation command and waited. For the first time in over one-hundred years, the eyes of Megaman X flipped open. He stood and his expressionless face turned into surprise and confusement. He looked around "Where am I?" he asked. Cerveau jumped up and down- his face aglow with excitement. "You are in the resistance base X! Please hurry we need your help!"

**&&&&&&&&&&**

Zero finally reached the soldiers. This would be easy as pie! One slash of his saber and five reploids fell. The other soldiers kept firing at him, but their blasters weren't enough to do much damage at all. Another swing and three went down. The other soldiers scattered and ran around each going a different direction. Zero hesitated at first, trying to decide which would he go after first. He decided to forget them and leapt over his drones to the front ranks. He forced back a large group of tiring soldiers.

"This is where your pitiful rebellion has gotten you!" he yelled, his red eyes striking fear into the hearts of the soon to be dead soldiers "Now you will see what you have gained by your actions!" he dashed forward his Z-Saber raised. The soldiers braced themselves for the death strike...

But it never came.

A large fist came hurtling into Zero's face, implanting it firmly in his jaw. It knocked him back ten feet! Zero lay dazed temporarily and looked up at his attacker. His mind was temporarily free of Dr. Weil's curse and his mind was filled with happiness. "Megaman X! My friend..." he murmured. But then the red eyes glowed again and his mind was once again under control. He stood up charging his saber slash.

Megaman X. No longer just a cyber-elf floating through the air, but now he was back in his body. His whole body decked out in blue titanium plates. His helmet sported a red jewel on the front which shone like a star. He had a large plasma buster on his left arm and another on his right. The legendary robot that fought over one hundred years during the maverick wars. Megaman was back!

Megaman X smiled slightly at Zero, but it faded quickly as the red glow returned to Zero's eyes. He charged his buster and aimed it at Zero. "Zero... I am back. Stop what you are doing now!" he commanded. Zero laughed.

"No possible way. We are winning this battle and I'm not about to stop now." Megaman sighed and aimed his buster. "Alright then. **I** will!" Zero tried to dodge, but even his quick movements couldn't save him from the deadly plasma shot that erupted from Megaman's buster. He flew backwards over his ranks and onto some drones. Megaman jumped and used his dash jets to keep himself airborne. "STOP!" he yelled "STOP NOW! I COMMAND YOU ALL!"

Every single soldier from both sides stopped. The drones and the guardians all bowed instantly as they recognized what they thought was their leader. The guardians all walked up to him and bowed low. "Master X!" said Harpuia. Megaman X saw that they believed him to be Copy X. He took advantage of this and bade them rise. He put on an expression of authority.

"Listen to me. I want each and very one of you to get back to Neo Arcadia at once. There is an emergency which requires your absence from here." Fefnir looked whiningly at him. "Aw come on Master! We have them licked!" Megaman X dismissed his comment. "Now, I tell you. I won't hear any arguments." All the guardians reluctantly did as they were told. Nobody but nobody disobeyed orders from Master X!

As they dispersed, the remains of the killed reploids lay everywhere. It was a stomach churning sight. Mostly resistance soldiers lay dead, but there was a lot of the enemy remaining there too. All that fighting and killing. It would have made an inexperienced person lose control of themselves, but Megaman had seen this more than once. Yet it still made his mind feel heavy with the sadness that such a battle had to be fought at all.

His mind switched back to Zero. What had happened to him? Once his energy as a cyber-elf was gone, he couldn't remember what had happened during the time between that and his reviving.

He turned and walked back to the inside of the vault. Soldiers instantly began firing at him. Enzan ran right up to him and shot at him. "Go away Copy X, or be destroyed!" he threatened. X easily dodged his shots "Hey wait a minute! I'm not Copy X, I'm Megaman X!"

Ciel ran up to him and grabbed his arm. "Stop it!" she commanded "This is the real Megaman!"

She walked up to him and extended her hand smiling gratefully. "Thank you for your help X. You saved us all. We owe you a great dept." X felt odd talking to the first human he had seen in so long, but he took her hand and shook it very officially. It felt good to shake hands with another being instead of constantly wandering around in the form of a cyber-elf. "You're very welcome Miss Ciel. I'm glad to be of service." he said.

"But I have a lot of questions. What has been happening since my elf form died? What have they done to Zero?"

Ciel nodded. She could understand his confusion. He would need a lot of answers before they could take action. "Come on X. We'll talk about everything."


	11. Legendary Heroes

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great chapter. :) Megaman X is back! YAY X is back. :) Great job and I hope you update soon. :)

I'll be updating my fic after my last final tomorrow. I've been working on it slowly, but it's coming along nicely. :) And as for your one-shot, Email me and tell me if you want me to send it to you or to post it up. :) Either way is fine. :)

Talk to you later.

Alisi T.

**Me:** I think I replied to this review in an e-mail already, but still, I am glad you like it. Megaman X is actually going to be figuring more promptly in the story from the action point of view.

(By the way, I apologize again for that insulting review. I'm glad we settled it out.)

- - - - -

**Lightning Edgeman Zero:** Yes X is back and ! But now what is going to happen to Zero? I guess I'll just wait and find out. I hope your Bass's Reality stories are turning out.:)

**Me:** My Bass's Reality story is coming along alright. I haven't written very much on it, but what I have written is very good- at least, in my own opinion. X is going to figure more prominently in the action spotlight, but I won't be bringing back any other X series characters.

(By the way, the little omissions are for what you said in your review. I didn't exactly appreciate it, I hope you don't mind too much. I try to do that with most reviews, but I do appreciate your enthusiasm nonetheless. Thanks :-) )

- - - - -

**AxelWildfire:** Heh-heh, not bad at all. And X finally gets his due - it's about time. Nice going.

Axel

**Me:** I'm glad you like Megaman X's entrance, AxelWildfire. He will figure more prominently in the action spotlight in the rest of the story, but I won't be bringing back Alia, Signas, or Axel. Sorry, but it's the way it has to be. But I'm glad your enjoying it. Keep reading for more X stuff. :-)

- - - - -

_Chapter Three Review._

**RavenIga14:** Wow! This is really good! Finally there's a megaman fiction I can actually understand about Zero and Ciel. And Leviathan isn't involved! Yes! I never played the MegamanZero games but I really wanted to. Rockman Zero is so HOT! Keep up the good work.

**Me:** I like the Megaman Zero series too. It's kind of unique, in its own way. I'm glad my writing is clear enough for you. It's nice to know what I wrote was understandable as well as enjoyable.

(I hate Zero loves Leviathan romances too. It is so unlikely and ridiculous for those two to ever fall in love at all, no matter how many times Zero saves her. Plus, Ciel deserves Zero a lot more, don't you think?)

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**RavenIga14:** Please update soon. I want Zero and Ciel and X to get together. Good job!

**Me:** As you can see, I have updated. Thank you for your reviews, RavenIga14. There will be a happy ending, with a little hurt, but I assure you, the ending will be more than satisfactory. Just keep reading! (And reviewing :-) )

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And now, I have something to say. I recently criticized one of Alisi Thorndyke's stories she is working on, and I was rude and inconsiderate about it. We've sorted it out alright (Thanks Alisi) But I just thought I should mention it. I wouldn't want any of you readers or reviewers of mine being insulting to me, and Alisi never has at all. I'm not going to be like that ever again if I can help it.

And now for the chapter. I will probably be updating again relatively soon, like Monday or Tuesday. Please Read and review.

**NOTICE**

Megaman X is going to be more of the hero character from now on in the fighting and action and such, but it won't steer completely way from Zero. Please continue reading, those of you who only want to read for Zero's sake, I think you will enjoy it even so.

* * *

"So you're saying that Dr. Weil has infected Zero's mind?" asked Megaman. "How on earth could be possibly do that?"

They were all back at the resistance base in the normal premises. The vault was undergoing repairs and so was the few parts of the base that were attacked. They lost twenty-five soldiers in the battle and more were injured. The losses were staggering, but with X on their side everyone seemed to maintain a high morale.

Megaman found himself sitting at a table with Ciel and Cerveau. His sleeping body had- for years, been deactivated and was just a piece of machinery. Now he was back. Back to do battle and charge his busters once again. But without any friends he previously knew in the world. And without Zero, he was very eager to make some new company, and find out what was wrong with his friend.

Ciel nodded to his question "I'm afraid he has, X. I don't know how, but I suspect he might have done it with the curse similar to the one he put on the Dark Elf. Whatever it is, he is not the Zero I knew."

X nodded in agreement. "He isn't the same Zero I knew either."

Cerveau arrived at the table with a tray "Coffee anyone?" he asked.

X quickly took a mug "Sure. Thanks um... Cerveau, is it?"

Cerveau nodded and set the tray down "Yep, that's my name."

Ciel even took a mug and put some creamer in it. "Do you want any sugar Megaman X?" asked Ciel.

X shook his head and sipped his coffee "No thanks. I like it black. By the way could you call me just Megaman? I like it better." he bubbled underneath his drink.

"If you want that." said Ciel.

Cerveau looked at him in shock "You are kidding right? No sugar? You can't possibly drink coffee without sugar!"

X cocked an eyebrow "Oh yeah? Just watch me." He tipped his mug back… and stopped.

He put it down and stood up. "This is ridiculous. I can't just sit around guzzling coffee. I need to go help Zero!"

Ciel stood up and laid a hand on his arm. She spoke calmly "Megaman please, we can't just go and get Zero. He has a new weapon that I'm surprised he didn't use on you. He could catch you with it. I have a different plan."

Megaman sighed and sat down. "Fine. What is it?"

Ciel sat back down and folded her hands together. "This is my idea. I think that Dr. Weil may be the substance of the curse. If he was far away from Zero the effects may wear off. But I don't know how we'll do that. He would have to be outside of Neo Arcadia and far away. But the people don't know how deadly he is and think of him as their leader."

Cerveau suddenly banged his mug on the table "Hey I think I have an idea!" he said. Megaman leaned forward and listened intently "Go on."

Cerveau spoke "Zero said something in the tower before he was infected. He told Dr. Weil that if the citizens in Neo Arcadia saw evidence of his actions they would turn against him and banish him again!"

Megaman nodded, slowly realizing what he was getting at. "Aha... so if we somehow showed them what Dr. Weil was doing- a TV/Radio broadcast maybe, they would banish him again?" Cerveau snapped his fingers "Exactly!"

Ciel squinted her eyes and thought for a moment. Then she smiled "I have several audio recordings of Dr. Weil when he spoke to us when Zero was... still himself. And I have some tapes of the guardians when they "retired" innocent reploids. That's one of the things that made me join. I think if we sent over some kind of satellite that would cut in to radios and other devices like that, we just might convince them that Dr. Weil is not fit to rule them!"

Megaman stood up and smiled "Then that's what we should do. How can I help?"

---

Back at Neo Arcadia; Dr. Weil was screaming his head off at the guardians. He wondered if they thought if they tried harder, they might be more stupid. "How could you let yourselves be fooled by that imposter!" he yelled.

Harpuia, for once looked completely nonplussed. "Sir I saw him with my own two eyes, that was Master X."

Fefnir nodded "I saw him too sir! In the metal. He told us all to come here because there was an incident that required us to leave there!"

Dr. Weil sighed and his face grew red with rage. "Of course he told you that! The incident was your attacking the resistance! That is why they required you to leave. And I know that reploid couldn't possibly be Master X. I destroyed him!"

All the guardians looked shocked "What!" gasped Harpuia. They all looked horrified, but then almost directly afterwards, the doubt and shock left his face. None of the guardians looked like they ever heard anything suspicious.

Dr. Weil laughed underneath his breath. "Now listen. If what you told me is true, than that means that the original X is still alive and they have revived him. That resistance would be ground to dust without their living legends. Which is why I need you to do this... By the way, where's Zero?"

Leviathan spoke this time. "He was seriously injured during the battle sir. We don't know what by, but he needs some time to repair."

Dr. Weil grumbled something gibberish "Oh whatever... Now listen. I want all three of you to go yourselves and get Megaman X. He can't possibly fight you all at the same time. I don't care what you do to get him, but you must destroy him. If he isn't destroyed, then we have no way of conquering that pitiful resistance..."

All the guardians stood by waiting for him to say something else. Dr. Weil paced back and forth. Then he noticed that they were still there. He whirled on them "Well? What are you waiting for? GET MOVING!"

The guardians were only too happy to leave.

* * *

Ciel pointed out some different plans. The plan was that Megaman would go to different areas that was considered to be Neo Arcadian property. Several vital parts would have to be retrieved from there and as secretly as possible.

"That is the plan Megaman." said Ciel. "I don't want to force you or anything, but will you accept these missions?"

Megaman nodded. "You wouldn't need to force me. I'll do anything to save Zero and bring Dr. Weil's curse down. But first I want to walk around the base for a while. It hasn't been two hours since my reviving and I need to get used to it. Would it be O.K. if I did that first?"

Ciel smiled. "Of course! Go right ahead. There's no deadline. Take as long as you want." Megaman thanked her and left the room. Ciel turned to Cerveau. She sighed and leaned against the wall. "Cerveau... How long will it be that we have to keep going back to legends to save ourselves? It seems like we can't do a thing without some century old help."

Cerveau cocked an eyebrow. "Century old? Is that an insult?" he asked quizzically.

Ciel waved her hands in front of her. "No, no, no, Cerveau. That's not what I mean at all. But.. it seems that we always need some big gigantic reploid that was built years ago. You would think we could take care of ourselves."

Ciel's thoughts were understandable. Without being able to fend for themselves, was it fair to keep reviving robots that were supposed to have been left shutdown?

Cerveau on the other hand didn't seem very bothered by the thought. He poured himself more coffee and stirred some sugar in. "Ciel, that is what these robots were built for. This is their destiny. Even if we were stronger than Neo Arcadia, we always needed a warrior whose strength exceeded that of hundreds. Everybody needs a hero or a warrior to lead the army. I think that Megaman X and Zero are those two. Think what the world would be like without them!"

Ciel nodded. It made sense alright. Even she needed some kind of hero to look up to. Zero. She always marveled at him for being so willing to fight for justice. She liked how he had helped her take care of Alouette before the incident, and how he had saved her life at the beginning. "I suppose you are right Cerveau." she said quietly. "I think we all need a hero in our lives."

Cerveau gulped down his coffee. "Of course I'm right. I seem to be in the habit of being right. Have you noticed how right I have been about everything these past few days?"

Ciel rolled her eyes and laughed a little. "I actually have to admit that you have been pretty "right" but don't let it go to your head. You might think that coffee is something you should drink frequently. In that you are wrong."

Cerveau set down his mug and looked at her with his mouth full of coffee and his cheeks blown out. He swallowed hard "Are you kidding? That's a matter of opinion. Besides I don't think I could live without some coffee everyday."

Ciel walked away throwing back over her shoulder "If it's a matter of opinion, then your opinion is not true."

Cerveau blinked. Completely nonplussed at what she had just said. "My opinion is not true?" he said confusedly "That doesn't make a whole lot of sense! Hardly any really."

But Ciel had already left, fully aware that what she just said did not make any sense at all!

---

As Megaman X walked around the corridors of the base, he decided he would get acquainted with at least a few different soldiers. He would shake hands with numerous soldiers who felt it a great honor to have shaken hands with a legendary hero. Some even asked him to autograph their weapons. "Good luck" he supposed.

There was one soldier that stood out among the rest. He seemed to hold an air of superiority over everyone else; yet he didn't sneer or look down on anyone. He had a very dull expression on his face with extremely blue eyes; which would have been very entrancing despite his boring outlook. Nobody knew that what he was experiencing was something radically different from boredom. He stood apart from the others and said little.

Megaman walked up to him and offered his hand "Hi! My name is Megaman X!" He greeted almost cheerily. The young man studied him for a minute, then he took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you too. My name is Enzan. My friends call me Enzan, but you can call me Enzan."

Megaman laughed. "Hm, I guess I'll call you... Enzan." he said as if he was making a very choice-y decision. "Yeah, that seems to suit you."

Enzan's face lit up a little and he laughed as well. It made him look nice considering his earlier expression. Megaman snapped his fingers suddenly. "Aha! I saw you at the fight down at the vault. You were commanding some of the soldiers."

Enzan's face fell slightly and his boring look returned; But Megaman could see that it wasn't boredom that ruled his features, it was seriousness. He nodded casually "I was commanding the soldiers." he said without saying more. Megaman was confused. He seemed a little humorous at first, and now he seemed to have lost all gaiety and looked very... he couldn't figure it out.

He decided that further conversation would not be a good idea at that moment. Megaman patted him briskly on the shoulder. "Well I um- guess I'll go about the rest of this base. See you around Enzan!" Enzan nodded slightly and turned his face away. Megaman went walking down the hallway thinking about his new- at least hoped to be, friend.

Friend. The word made him think of other friends he had years ago during the maverick wars against Sigma. Boy did that bring back memories. Not bad ones, but good things that he had slightly forgotten over his hundred year deactivation. Axel. He seemed like a regular whippersnapper (to borrow the colloquialism) at first, but after a while he had proved his worth. A spirit energetic and ready for battle at a moments notice. Nice guy.

Then there was the three navigators. Layer, Palette, and Alia. He never really considered any of them to be close friends... except for Alia. He smiled. He remembered he had a crush on Alia once, but he never showed it. It seemed odd, but it looked like she had a soft spot for him too. She always seemed to worry about him more than the rest. She did that for every hunter she stayed in touch with, but it seemed a little more so with him. It seemed a little annoying, but now and then it was useful to have someone worry about him.

Hey, wouldn't Alia be here in the resistance base? No... a lot can happen over a hundred years. He dismissed the thought from his mind. If he started missing old friends, he might start... crying. He really wanted to have some friends he really knew. Even Zero was gone...

But not for long! Megaman spun around and ran as fast as he could for the lab. He wanted to find those parts as soon as possible if he wanted to save Zero.

* * *

Ciel laughed softly to herself as she thought of the confused look on Cerveau's face. He looked so comical just sitting there with his dumbfounded expression over a mug of coffee. "That was pretty funny." she thought. "Really funny in fact- woah!" she jumped out of the way as a blue streak shot by her and she narrowly missed being demolished. The blue streak screeched to a halt and ran back to her.

"Ciel! I'm sorry. I was in a big hurry and I almost demolished you." Said Megaman.

Ciel breathed a sigh of relief "I know you almost demolished me. That's O.K. though, I wondered if you had enough time to begin your first mission?"

Megaman nodded and saluted. "I'm ready as I'll ever be miss Ciel!" he said in a very business like manner. He followed her into the command room and she told him the general plan.

"We need three parts," she began "One is a very large broadcasting satellite dish. It has all the Neo Arcadian channels linked into it and we'll need that if we want to make a complete and thorough broadcast. The second is the schematics for some of their laser turrets, that way I can make some kind of special shield for the satellite. The third is the security tapes from their base. I'm sure they keep copies of their surveillance recordings and I want the ones from Dr. Weil's own room. That way we can prove without a doubt that he is not fighting for Neo Arcadia."

Megaman chuckled dryly "Really? That's all huh?" he asked sarcastically. But he smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Alright. This shouldn't be too hard. I usually had to go get eight things from the bad guys, now I only have to get three."

Ciel's face grew serious "Megaman don't underestimate them. The "Bad Guys" are nothing like the ones you encountered. After all these years their strength has been improved to the point that-"

Megaman cut her off "I know Ciel. If you remember, I was still fighting in my elf form before you were even born."

Ciel laughed and her face grew red slightly. "Oh yeah, right. Well anyway, lets go to the transfer room."

Megaman looked confused. "Why the transfer room? I'll just teleport out of here."

Ciel looked at him wide eyed "What? You can teleport from one area to another by yourself?" she asked astonished.

Megaman nodded and smiled. "I sure can" he replied "I'm not a copy from the original because I _am_ the original. No doubt when Zero's body was copied they made some "improvements" that required the removal of his teleportation device. I was not, however, and I still have my old teleportation device."

Ciel stood fixed to the spot. She shook her head amazed. "That is amazing Megaman. I wish Zero could have had one. Oh well... here are the coordinates for the area. Please don't get hurt!"

Megaman smiled and readied his busters. "You don't need to worry about me Ciel. If anything, I've fought harder opponents than Fefnir, of all reploids"

Ciel sighed in relief. "That's nice to know. I wish I could be your watcher on your mission, but due to the circumstances I haven't been able to do much research on the "Ciel System". I have s special project to work on in case this plan fails. I have somebody else who will be your watcher. She'll give you updates now and then about your progress. Oh, here's the Flame Chip. Please be careful."

Megaman saluted again. "I will. See you later!" he said as he teleported out.


	12. Phase 1

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. Great chapter. :) Please update soon.

Alisi T.

**Me:** Thanks Alisi. Here's the chapter, I hope you like it. (By the way, that one story with Tori in it, I might be getting more progress on it in the next few days. The story is making itself out in my mind, and I can't wait to write it out.

(Just in case, the part with the being afraid of her own poison has nothing to do with you. You'll find out what I mean later. No offense meant, is was written before I knew anything about it. :-)

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**RavenIga14:** Yes, I do think Ciel and Zero go together better. As I said before I've never played the games, I actually started reading megaman fics when I saw MMZ-The Last Cataclysm by Flamezero on I got a feel for each characters personality from that and I can definitely say that I dislike Leviathan. That comment Cerveau made about the coffee was funny. Good job.

**Me:** I have had a couple of different people talk about how funny Cerveau is. I'm glad so many like it that much. Every story needs some kind of humor in it.

I saw The Last Cataclysm too. THAT WAS SO COOL! The voices and the sprite animation was unbelievable. I'm glad it made a good enough impression that it made you want to read these stories. (Not all of them are good, but some are.)

For another thing, in the games, Leviathan never fights Zero for fun. None of them do. They like the challenge, yes, but there is no way the Zero would ever love Leviathan, or Leviathan to like Zero.

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**Lightening Edgeman ZERO:** Sorry for not reviewing sooner. My answer to your answer of my last review is I don't mind too much at all. I'm still a fan. Now I say Good story, good luck and have fun writing the action seens!(:D)

**Me:** That's okay. Just so long as you review. Thanks for taking the omissions the right way :-). I hope you like the action scenes here. It is a bit unexciting as the next chapters will be, but I think you'll like it anyway.

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**Archaon:** Hello there! Time to write one of my customary huge reviews!  
First things first, I have no complaints whatsoever about technical matters. Your format is pleasing to the eye and errors are almost non-existent.  
As for the story itself, although I was a bit skeptical when I saw the guardians being portrayed as evil, Weil's apparent mind control is an explanation I can accept. Also note that initially the guardians were loyal to the original X, the founder of Neo-Arcadia. We don't even know if they were aware Copy X was a copy. Ciel acts a bit unusually at times, but that's okay. What I find hilarious is Cerveau's addiction and actions XD And a good thing he was proven right again and again. As for Zero, his 'dark side' is quite appealing and quite true to what Weil would want. Also know that I expect a good explanation about how Weil controls Zero. Seeing as he couldn't do it at the elf wars or in mmz3, it must be something outlandish, possibly even dangerous to X since these two tend to be immune to the same things (Sigma virus, dark elf, etc). As for X's return, the idea about the dimension inside the seal was very good as was his personality (That line about the coffee was precious.) Btw, 'megaman' is generally more of a title than a name. In most instances they simply call him 'X' . And also, I'm curious if he has retained any of his old armors/abilities. In terms of power he should be far more flexible than Zero, having at least 64 special weapons and a dozen different armors...  
As for your battles, while they are decent, I believe you can do better. Try to think how everybody fights in the games, then try to improvise as much as possible. A plain buster shot is nothing special but a buster shot that ricochets on a wall, hits the enemy in midair and drives him in place for the next attack is more interesting.  
All in all, a great story that can become even better. Post on!

**Me:** Holy Cow. I don't believe I've ever received a better review than this one. Thanks a ton for everything you said, I'm glad I had some suggestions and criticism. It gives me a much clearer idea on how to write my stories knowing the impression I get from my readers.

I'm glad you like the formatting. That always takes a lot of work and insight.

I did play the Megaman Zero games, all four of them, and I know the guardians real intentions were to just protect Neo Arcadia. I know they never really knew that Master X was a copy, which, if you've read this far, is something I used to the Resistance's advantage. (Kind of sneaky, if I do say so myself)

If you are reading this and wouldn't mind taking the time, could you tell me specifically what it is that is unusual about Ciel? I had hoped to make her a little different from most stories (Ever heard of Mary Sues?) She is nice and loving towards Zero, but it isn't sappy and disgusting. I try to write it in such a way that will appeal to the reader more than just a plain "Oh I love you! Smooch Smooch Let's get married!". If you had any ideas, let me know.

Megaman's personality was difficult. As you might know from playing the Megaman X series, he doesn't portray too much of his personality at all. (I played 1-5) So coming up with that took some time.

I called him Megaman because I'm beginning to miss that name. People refer to him as X so much, I sometimes forget his other name, and I grew up playing the originals so I like it better. If you notice in the future chapters, they refer to him as "X" now and then, so don't worry. :-)

I'll do the battle scenes as best as I can. Megaman will have the standard weapons only, but things like Double Shots, Air dashes and climbing walls, those will be included. 64 Weapons and capabilities would be hard to incorporate Oo however he is more flexible in the idea that he has his own teleportation device. So that's no problem there.

I hope you like this chapter. Review again if you can!

* * *

Megaman X landed outside the grounds of a TV station designed for Neo Arcadia's broadcasting. Megaman twiddled with his head mic. "Hello? Is somebody there?"

His answer was a loud ear-bending screeching sound. He ground his teeth together and tuned down the volume. He could faintly hear somebody's voice on the other end. "..llo... hel... Hello? Is this Megaman X?"

It was a girl, like Ciel had said it would be. "Yes this is Megaman X. Who is this?"

The girl didn't seem to hear his question. "Good, our connection is sketchy because it needs to be maintained at low frequency for safety precautions. I'll be your watcher." Megaman nodded, mostly to himself.

"Good. Um.. we haven't met before, have we?" asked Megaman "Your voice sounds familiar."

"I don't believe so. Let's get on with our mission, shall we?" He could hear some more static, then she spoke again. "Just try breaking into the base through the front. They shouldn't have too many drones there. If anything, there might not be any drones at all! Just try to approach cautiously without being suspicious."

Megaman turned both his hands into busters. "Boy, I'm glad I still have my downloading weapon capture ability."

"Alright." He said aloud Megaman "Could you stand by and give me directions on how to make my way through this station?"

"Of course!" she said cheerily "I'll be glad to."

Megaman found himself only thirty yards from the base. There wasn't any trees or rocks to hide or dodge behind. "Well, I suppose the most non-suspicious way of sneaking into a station is too... just walk in casually as anything!" he decided. He changed his busters back to regular hands and took long easy strides toward the station. He even put in a casual whistle.

"Do be do be doo..." he mumbled. "I'm just a casual hundred year blue reploid going to go rob a station. Blabidy blah blah blah..."

---

On the surveillance camera screens, a guard picked up a tall blue reploid walking towards the station. "Hey Bob!" he called.

Another gaurd came over. "What is it Bob?" he asked. Bob pointed to the screen. "Look at that guy. Do you recognize him?"

Bob shook his head "Nope. What's he doing?"

Bob stared intently at the screen. "He looks like he's taking a walk. I think he'll try to get in. I think he looks like he's whistling."

Bob shrugged "Whatever. He doesn't look like anything to worry about. I'll notify the guards at the door to ask him for identification." Bob nodded and sat back in his chair.

"O.K. Bob. Let's go get some doughnuts. It's been pretty boring watching these cameras all day and only picking up a blue whistling reploid."

He made a mock nervous look. "Ooh gee, he's so threatening! I suppose we should call for some serious forces. You never know when a big blue guy could blow the walls down!"

Bob laughed at Bob's joke "That's true. You would think he was coming to rob the station in broad daylight. Da, ha, ha, ha!"

* * *

Megaman held his hands together behind his back. He was only ten feet from the base now. It looked like it would be pretty easy. However, just as he opened the door, he encountered two security guards. "Drat." he thought "Why is this never easy?"

The security guards looked him over. "Who are you?" they asked.

Megaman's mind raced trying to figure out what to do. "Umm... my name is X. Just X. Uh... I never let anybody I don't know have my real name."

The guards took out some small computers. They scanned Megaman over. "Um, I'm sorry" said one of the guards "You don't check in. I'm going to have to ask you to come with us."

Megaman chewed his lip nervously. What would he do?

Then, in a flash he knew! He slung his arm over one of their shoulders. "Hey look here, I'm a reasonable guy. If you need to have my I.D. you can." then he secretly touched his hand to the computer wire in the guards hand. Using his weapons download system, he downloaded the I.D for all the personnel.

"He he he.." Megaman laughed in his mind. Out loud he said- "My number is 9182736450. My name is Bob and I have had a slight change in dress as of late. I prefer this blue stuff."

The guard shrugged off Megaman and looked into his computer. "Alright then!" he said. "You check in. Please proceed."

Megaman nodded and patted the guard on the shoulder "Thanks a lot." he said. He strolled out of the main entrance and into a hallway. He talked quietly into his head mic. "Are you still there?"

The reploid answered "Yes. I have some rough schematics on the station. You need to go completely down the hallway where the security doors are located. I think walking casually worked. Try to remain calm. If you get in a scrape just let me know and I'll see if I can help you."

Megaman smiled. "Thanks a bunch." he said.

Walking and whistling was not needed now. He walked at a normal pace and tried to look official. He couldn't get it out of his mind. That reploid sounded familiar... he couldn't put his finger on it. When he got to the end of the hallway he found the security door. He input his stolen I.D. into the computer and the door slid open. He felt a little sweat run down his forehead. He rubbed it and sighed. If he was discovered, he wouldn't know how to get back out besides the way he had just come.

"The satellite dish is somewhere in there."

Megaman jumped suddenly. He rubbed his forehead again and tuned the volume lower on his mic. Somehow the volume went up. "Why would the satellite dish be in here?" he asked.

"It's in there. Just look. I can't completely pinpoint it's position, but it has to be in there." Megaman looked around. There was quite a few different doors with no difference other than numbers above them. He rolled his eyes. This would take a while.

"I think I'd better check my personnel I.D. for locations." he went through the I.D. and found several men had their positions around special equipment. In room 6342.

Megaman found the door with 6342 on it and entered it. He found a lot of security guards standing around different boxes and containers. They all had weapons in hand. "Perfect." thought Megaman. Still, if the past had any influence, taking these guys down would be a cinch. He looked through the supplies, not getting too close to throw suspicion. The labels read: "High speed radio enhancers… Clean cutting edit microphones. Hmmm… empty crates, but they're really very important...

He finally found a rather large crate that contained the satellite dish. How would he get it? It was too big to take in teleportation. He would have to take a risk and deliver coordinates audibly to his watcher. "I need you to make a large transfer eight feet in front of me." he said. Loud enough for the guards to hear him. They looked at each other and gained fresh holds on their blasters.

The girl watcher shushed him "Quiet! Do you want them to hear you?" she spoke too loudly however. The guard's suspicions were confirmed and they aimed their blasters at him.

"Your under arrest." said one of them.

The watcher whispered quietly "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that. We'll get the transfer ready, but what are you doing now?" Megaman backed away from the guards. "Just get that transfer now!" he said.

The guards charged their blasters and advanced. Megaman switched his left arm to a buster and charged it. He didn't want to kill any of them. They looked like they were just doing their job and he didn't want to kill them unnecessarily. "Let me go." he said calmly. The guards kept advancing. They shook their heads "Nope. We have to take you in."

Megaman cocked his eyebrow "I **am** in. Besides I don't want to hurt anybody. Just let me go quietly."

---

Back in the security room Bob began jumping up and down. "Hey Bob! Look! Someone is blasting guards in the safe room!"

Bob rushed over and looked at the screen, "Wow, look at that!" he remarked. Bob jumped up from his seat "Well let's get going! We need to help them out!"

A chief ran in suddenly "Stand to attention men!" he ordered. Bob and Bob stood up straight.

"Now men this reploid is extremely strong. We need all guards to converge on that area. I want you Bob to take a few of our men and hide in the secret wall. If you see him, ambush him. Bob, I want you to start sounding over the intercom for all guards to converge on the safe room. Hurry up!"

Bob and Bob both dove for the intercom. "Not you Bob! I'm supposed to be calling the intercom!"

Bob shoved him back. "No, I am! He told me to!"

The chief looked quizzically at them "Who here is Bob?" he asked.

"I AM!" yelled both guards. The chief just shrugged "Look, one of you Bobs takes the one or the other, it makes no difference; Just get moving!"

* * *

Megaman couldn't teleport out until the transfer commenced, and he would need a few seconds of plain standing still time to teleport. And it didn't look like he would get that with these many gaurds. He aimed his buster at the guards. His charge level began increasing to double shot. He changed his other hand to a buster. It didn't look like the guards would let him leave. Suddenly the large crate shone a bright yellow. It filled the room with it's brilliant glow, and then it disappeared.

At that moment the guards were distracted. He tried to teleport out, but the guards saw this and began shooting. Megaman dodged out of the way. BOOM! He let fly his shots from both busters. They ripped through the guards, taking down eight.

"What's the quickest way out!" he yelled into his mic. The watcher answered him in a hurried, but calm voice. "Up. Try going up. There's three floors and it will take a short time to teleport out. Hurry!"

Megaman jumped to the side letting shots hit the wall. He suddenly recognized who it was she reminded him of. "Hey! Are you-" he didn't finish.

He fired a large round of shots, countering the shots of the security guards'. "Stop!" he yelled. "I don't want to destroy any of you!"

It didn't look like the guards were paying any attention. Megaman gritted his teeth hard and sucked in a deep breath. "Fine, I'll just have to get past them!"

He ran forward and leapt into the air. He performed an air-dash and soared over the heads of the guards. He landed and dashed again, knocking over guards as he did. He flew through the door before they could get back up. Unfortunately for them, the guards he knocked over were taken down by the shots from the other men.

Megaman kept dashing through the hallways. Boy, it was a good thing this wasn't a prison! It looked like all the guards had converged on that room so there were none in the hallways. He still let his charge build up anyway. He turned to the left while the watcher gave him instructions.

"You left a different doorway Megaman. You need to go..." she rattled off different directions and he took them all.

Then he stopped. Why didn't he just teleport out? "I'll just teleport out." he said "It won't take long." He almost did, but to his dismay the guards had caught up with him; jumping out of nowhere. "Where on earth did they come from!" thought Megaman.

He fired both busters, one against the wall and one against the ceiling. They both bounced off the walls and ceiling and floor, making a + sign of plasma shot, cutting the guards down like Nine Pins. Megaman then continued running. It seemed like forever until he finally made it outside. There was no guards outside and the rest were still inside. He kept on running, forgetting again that teleporting out would be a good idea too. He was a safe distance away and he made sure there was no other guards to catch him.

Suddenly a white beam of light shot to the ground in front of him. It flashed into a medium sized reploid. It was red and had a large cannon that seemed to make up his entire arm. He had a nasty snarl on his face and he didn't look like he wanted to chat.

"I am Fefnir of the four guardians." he announced "I have been sent here to liquidate you."

Megaman eyed him suspiciously. He seemed to be talking sort of automatically. He was impressed by his cannon, but not his ferocity. Megaman held up both of his busters. "And I-" he said "Don't have the time to waste on you. You may be fooled into following Dr. Weil, but you won't stop me."

Fefnir's eyes widened and he looked very odd. "Fooled? Hah, I know perfectly well what I'm doing. Prepare yourself, I am not very easy to beat."

Megaman and Fefnir began circling each other. Megaman laughed scornfully "Do you honestly think you can defeat me?" he challenged "I've seen overbuilt turtles look more frightening than you."

He got the response he wanted. Fefnir yelled in rage and jumped high in the sky. He landed behind Megaman launching a shock wave. Megaman leapt over it and released both charged shots from his busters. The first time he fired, he knocked the fire cannon away from his direction, and then the spiraling pink shot sent Fefnir flying backwards.

Fefnir was momentarily dazed by the sudden attack, but he recovered quickly. He got back up and charged his cannon. "Is that all you got? Then take this!" he let fly a flame ball. Megaman dodged left and began firing off his busters rapidly. Fefnir jumped left and right, avoiding all of them. Megaman felt slightly impressed at his agility, considering his size. He was even more surprised when he jumped again over him.

Megaman turned and leapt at him again, but unfortunately Fefnir was waiting for him. He fired a large flame ball and it hit Megaman squarely in the face. Megaman yelled and hit the ground. The flame's heat was more intense than he at first expected. He charged up his left buster and shot it at Fefnir. To his surprise, Fefnir held his cannon and the shot flew in the barrel. It flew back out covered in flames. It hit Megaman right in the chest melting away some of the armor.

Megaman breathed heavily. He couldn't take much more of this! He suddenly thought of the flame chip in his pocket, but it was useless. Being the original model, unsuited to new technology like these, he couldn't load elemental chips into his buster. Fefnir walked up charging his cannon and held it pointed it at him. He laughed what was supposed to be a dramatic laugh, but it came out more like a hoarse giggle. "He he he he he! Your mine now blue guy!"

Megaman realized just how strong the reploids in this future actually were. During the last of the maverick wars, he had fought bosses that were small potatoes to him. He had so much practice that fighting them was easy. Now- a hundred years later, it was a different story and one reploid was about to neutralize him. He had to think of something...

Fefnir began to shove his cannon at him and bumped him back to the ground. Megaman's mind raced for an idea. He lifted his hand trembling as if in a terribly weak state. "Doooon't kiiilllll meee..." he moaned.

Fefnir stepped closer and smiled. "And why not?" he asked menacingly.

Megaman quickly laid his hand on Fefnir's cannon "Because if you don't, then I will!" he yelled. He quickly copied Fefnir's weapon and jolted it away. Fefnir was momentarily taken aback by the sudden recovery of his opponent. Megaman lifted his legs and jammed them both into Fefnir's knees. Fefnir was sent flying head over heels. Megaman's armor changed bright red and he fired off several flaming shots. Fefnir was pelted hard.

"You can dish it out, now let's see if you can take it!" shouted Megaman. Fefnir's red armor was scorched all over, and he took quite a bit of damage. Megaman realized that since he didn't defeat Fefnir yet, his special fire power would only be temporary. He had to make every shot count.

Fefnir finally managed to dodge and sat panting heavily. Like a witch who was afraid of her own poison, he was weak towards his own weapon.

"You will pay!" he growled. Megaman didn't wait for him to recover. He jumped forward and landed a neat kick in Fefnir's jaw. He fell over and Megaman fired flaming shots like there was no tomorrow.

Fefnir was done for. He lay smoldering on the ground, his once red armor was now burnt and scorched from the shots of his own power. He couldn't move at all. Megaman changed powers back to plasma and kept his buster trained on him. Fefnir painfully craned his neck to look around. "What's going on?" he mumbled.

His eyes suddenly grew wide. He looked at Megaman, and then around him. He winced and he lay his head back down. "No.. this can't be happening."

Megaman felt a twinge of compassion for his fallen foe. He knelt beside him and lifted his head up. "I didn't really want to destroy you Fefnir. If you want, I'll take you back to the resistance base, we can repair you there."

Fefnir shook his head and laid his hand on Megaman's arm. "No thanks, blue guy, I'm done for. But don't let this happen again! Tell Leviathan and Harpuia..."

His voice trailed off, and his eyes clouded over. His head clunked against Megaman's chest, and he was dead.

Megaman sighed and set him down. It was one thing he did not like about gaining justice. Killing. One would think he was crazy, being a fighting robot. But it was not this case. Megaman had a certain amount of respect for the guardians, but it didn't make any difference in the end. Fefnir had to be destroyed.

He stood up "I'm coming back." he said in his head mic. "I hope repairs can be made immediately. Tell Miss Ciel I'm alright." and he teleported back to the resistance base.


	13. Evil Can Never Keep Zero Down

**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** Cool Fefnir/X battle I can't wait until the next cool fight scenes!(:D)

**Me:** I'm glad you liked it, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait quite a while before the next fight scene. I'm traveling to South Carolina tomorrow and won't be able to update for at least three days. Sorry! But I hope you like this chapter just the same.

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**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great Job with this chapter. Update when you can. :)

Now about your Megaman Axess fic, I can't wait to read it either. I even forgot you talked about writing it. I still have it saved, so after i write chapter 1 to my new story, then I'm going to go back and read over what you sent me about the story. Like i said, In the Megaman Battle Network series (EXE, Axess, Stream and beast) everybody loves a Lan/Maylu fic so I know for a fact it would be liked. :) So all things considered, it's going to be good.

Oh and about your Holiday one-shot, I'm going to send it to you instead of posting it becuase I have been thinking on it and now that i have the idea for it, it's too late to post it as a holiday fic. So look for it from me next week.

Well that's all.

Alisi T.

**Me:** I hope you like this chapter too, Alisi. I have several new fans of this story, and I never thought I'd get this many so far.

That Megaman Axess fic, I think you're talking about the one with Tori? Well, it's not really a Megaman Axess fic, though it will involved things like that in it. I base my NT Warrior stories mostly on the games than on the TV shows, so it may be a little different.

I eagerly await the one-shot, whenever you can send it.

P.S. There is a little surprise for you at the end of the fic. It is in the story, I think you'll like it. I've been waiting for this chapter to come up for a while.

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**Archaon:** My pleasure! Writing and receiving reviews is the best thing about fanfiction.  
I like the personality you are giving to X as well as Alia... um, I MEAN the mysterious navigator;-) The part with him whistling and with the Bobs was good comic relief for the battle that followed. I particularly liked the way he snatched the ID data. Although I'm not extremely happy Fefnir died (or didn't he?), the action scenes were good and he fought decently. I can't stand when the guardians are written as weaklings. The only ability you forgot to use was his buster's jaws XD. A suggestion: If and when X fights against Harpuia, make sure to have him use his electric drones along with everything else. As far as I know, I'm the only one until now that has written that in a battle.  
Another thing about battles: You did well with improvising but it can get even better if you consider the environment. That fake wall ambush was a good one. Everything can be used as a weapon in a pinch: sand, collapsing walls, other enemies... Zero knuckle is not really a new weapon, or at least shouldn't be.  
I never suggested you use ALL 64 weapons. You would need ten chapters for that. A couple and when needed though wouldn't be too tough.  
I know Mary Sues (As Zero was about to die, a mysterious reploid named Archaon crashed through the two thousand floors above him, landing and kicking all four guardians' heads off at the same time. Ciel rushed to them and after making sure Zero was alive, hugged the newcomer, who I must say was very handsome indeed.) Anything less blatant than that might or might not be considered a Mary Sue. Most of the time, it's really a matter of opinion.  
My summarized opinion about Ciel goes like that: She is a prodigy and definitely from a wealthy background (education plus funds for Resistance). It's really possible she has no living close relatives. She only has good intentions but the road to hell is paved with them. She feels guilty for anything wrong that happens( made copy X to prevent Neo-Arcadia from collapsing, made Elpizo leader, he went loco and tried to kill all humans except for her, researched energy source for peace but had to reject a truce because of Weil, could not restore Zero's memory although she is an expert, got used by Weil and NA became hell for both humans and reploids) She also has to send Zero to suicide missions and she knows what happens( remember she always listens through Zero's transmitter). All in all, she would never accuse Zero of anything substantial. Heck, I'm not even sure if she would accuse anyone of anything, since in her mind, her actions have endangered everybody. Instead, she would always find a way to blame herself and try to fix it, very much like X (pacifist- prototype of reploids- fought mavericks). There is much more but this is growing huge...  
Also, if you haven't already, you could read the script of X6-X8 to get X's character better. He has more lines in these games than in the first ones.  
Anyway, keep up the good work!

**Me:** First off, I love your long reviews. There is nothing I like better than a nice long review that tells me a lot about things I should improve or suggestions to the story. Thanks buddy:-)

There is one thing you'll discover later in this chapter, but I think I'll tell you now. Megaman X's watcher is not Alia. I've seen things like that happening before, but I decided that I wouldn't do that in this fic. For the moment, she's just a mysterious watched until you read this chapter. You might recognize her name! ;-)

I will take into serious consideration how Harpuia's attacks will be used. He is the Number 1 guardian, in my opinion, and I'll do everything to bring proper justice to that, other than (BOOM! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! X is DEAD!) stuff. I'm certain you'll appreciate it.

64 weapons. Personally, I don't believe X could move if he had that many. I may give him more flexibility, though I have to say I'll most likely leave him to his basic skills. Just the things he has at the beginnings of Megaman X games. I may have to add the charge weapon sequence to his powers. Oh, and Fefnir is definitely dead, no mistake.

I tried to use all the weapons Zero had because when I was in the process of writing this, it was before Megaman Zero 4 was released. I had not heard of the Nero Knuckle, so I could not incorporate it. (I personally don't think it was such a great idea either. Even the name, Zero… Knuckle? Kind of odd in my opinion.

That Mary Sue definition of yours was hilarious! There are a lot more defined ways of explaining them though, I think if you read Banbie Bunny's real story, you would have a better idea. Nice definition though.

Ciel does display a bit of pacifist attitude now and then, but not so often and not nearly so sickening as X was in the X series. You would think he would have a more positive attitude, but with Ciel it's understandable. Interesting outline of Ciel, I'll have to think about some of those things…

I might or I might not read the script to the Megaman X 6-8 games. I might get those games and I don't want to get it spoiled.

Well I have to write responses to the other reviews. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this one too.

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**RavenIga14:** Haha, what a couple of slackers. Aw poor Fefnir, well 'all is fair in love and war'. Please update.

**Me:** Yeah… poor Fefnir. Aw well, I guess you'll still like the future chapters anyway. More of that is yet to come though, so be prepared. :-)

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**supercookies567:** Sorry for not reviewin for a long time because i just dont have the time these days but i like how you wrote the story i hope you update soon

**Me:** I'm glad you took the time, supercookies567. (That name is hilarious!) this will be the last update for a while, I hope you like it.

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**golden-eyedwolf842:** Sorry for such a bad review. But I didn't have time to write a good one. Anyways, I thought that your story is very nicely written! Can't wait until the next update.

**Me:** Thanks a ton, wolf. I like the review, even if it isn't long. The next update will have to wait a while, but meanwhile, here's a short one. I hope you enjoy it.

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**ZBoi:** ahahaha i alwaes like zero fic keep up the good work! update soon!

**Me:** My first review of the year:-D I like a good Megaman Zero fic too. I'll try to keep the next chapters better and better, so keep reading. (And reviewing if you have the time. :-) )

**---**

This chapter will be kind of short, but it will at least show some activity concerning Zero in the middle, and I hope you take the time to review it. It will be the last update for a few days, so here it is!

* * *

Ciel shook Megaman's hand. "You did very well Megaman X. Thank you. That dish will give us the hacking capabilities we need to intercept the broadcasts of Neo Arcadia."

Megaman nodded. "Your welcome. I just wish I didn't have to fight and kill Fefnir. He was.. sort of a good guardian. I still wonder why he follows Dr. Weil."

Ciel shrugged "I have no idea. It's too bad you had to draw so much attention to yourself. I hope they don't draw any conclusions as to our plan. How are you feeling?"

Megaman rubbed his red face thoughtfully. "Um.. a little overheated. I need some repairs; Do you have any capsules around here?"

Ciel nodded and pointed to a room next to her lab. "That has a capsule. It should be sufficient. Zero used that room you know..." Her face softened as she remembered the last time she had been there. "Zero had had some bad dream or something like it. He was very unsettled and… he asked me what I would do if he joined Dr. Weil's side."

Megaman- trying to be comforting, patted her on the head. "I know. I think I know how you feel, Zero always had a bad dream whenever he went to sleep during the Maverick Wars. Don't worry, if everything goes well we should be able to get him back. Evil can never keep him down. Let's just hope he doesn't think of attacking the base again."

He took the flame chip out of his pocket and handed it to Ciel. "Here. I can't use this. My X Buster isn't compatible. Say, you wouldn't have an energy module would you?"

Ciel nodded and handed him one. "Sure. Why?"

Megaman took it and sent the energy to his face. The burns disappeared. "Thanks. I just need to heal those burn marks. See you later."

Megaman walked into his room and lay back in his capsule. He immediately felt energy run into him and aid his auto repair systems. "Aaah..." he sighed comfortably. It felt nice, the newer more modern techniques felt better on him than he could even remember the old ones being. The energy felt like pure oxygen feels to a human when it's been deprived of fresh air for days. For thirty minutes he lay, taking in as much energy as possible. Amazing. The repairs often took several hours to complete, and yet it was almost completely done in half an hour.

Then the door slid open and a girl walked in. She wore completely white armor and had a special antennae on her ear. She had blond hair and completely green eyes. She walked up to Megaman and shifted his arm. "Megaman?" she asked. Megaman opened one eye sleepily. "mumble..mumble.. yes? Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm your watcher." the girl replied. "I'm glad that you managed to escape from that station. I was worried sick."

Megaman got up from his capsule and stretched. "It was no big problem getting the guards. Just Fefnir. Hmm..." he looked her over. He smiled and laughed a little bit.

The girl looked a little confused. "What is it?" she asked "Is there some paint missing from my armor?"

Megaman shook his head "No no. You just remind me of someone I used to know. Her name was Alia. She was my watcher on my missions." The watcher did look like Alia, except she had a more feminine face than Alia did and she was slightly smaller. She looked slightly abashed at his comment. "Oh." was all she said.

Then she straightened up and looked official. "Miss Ciel wants to see you." she said "As your repairs are finished, she has another mission she wishes you to complete." Megaman nodded and they both walked to the lab.

* * *

Dr. Weil was not happy. He couldn't figure out why Megaman had stolen the dish, but he was sure angry that all of the guardians didn't intercept him at once like he had planned. "You fools!" he screamed at Leviathan and Harpuia; Who stood looking ashamed. "Why didn't you get him altogether! Now Fefnir is dead and it will take long enough to just repair him completely and revive him!"

Harpuia looked up at him. "Forgive us Lord Weil. His attack was unexpected and Fefnir was ordered to attack before we even received news. We would have helped him if we had known."

Dr. Weil still couldn't contain his rage. "I need more than just excuses, Sage Harpuia. It's no good if you haven't destroyed Megaman X. Now it will be harder to get him with just the two of you."

He sat back down on his throne-like chair. "And where in the world is Zero? He should have been repaired ages ago from that battle."

Leviathan stepped forward. "We don't know sir. He hasn't woken up yet, I believe he is in shock."

Dr. Weil nodded. Then his face grew nervous. "Do you.. do you believe he remembers Megaman X?" he asked. Leviathan shrugged. Dr. Weil stood up quickly. "Get to the main HQ. Listen for any attacks from Megaman. Go now!"

Leviathan and Harpuia bowed and stepped out. Dr. Weil hovered out of the room and down through his base to where Zero was kept. Zero lay motionless in his capsule. He didn't appear to be moving at all. The meters above him measured his blood pressure and pulse. His pulse was abnormally high. Dr. Weil put both his hands together and a small ball of purple energy formed between them.

"Listen to me Zero." he spoke in a calm soothing fashion. "I want you to forget that reploid you saw. He is nothing more than an imposter. You must destroy him and not let him go. Do you hear me? He is your enemy, not your friend. Now awake out of this stupid shock and pull yourself together... like a real guardian." the energy hovered over him and began to enter Zero's body.

But before it could fully enter, Zero suddenly jolted awake. He swatted at the energy and it floated away. He got up and grabbed Dr. Weil's shirt and pulled him close. "Weil..." he growled menacingly. Dr. Weil was not afraid, but surprised. He eyed him suspiciously. "Yes?"

Zero's face turned into one of complete hatred for the man who stood before him. "You made me kill Ciel, and her sister! How could you, you century old piece of space dust! Whatever evil you've placed in me won't keep me down, I'll- aaaaaugh!"

The energy floated back to him and entered him from behind. He jolted back and screamed as if he was being electrocuted. Dr. Weil created more dark energy and placed it inside him. Zero fell back to his capsule breathing heavily. Dr. Weil smiled.

"So, that is how it works. Every time more dark power attempts to enter you, your good side seems to fight at its ultimate level. Well, You will learn that your ethical mind is not strong enough to defeat this dark power, it cannot be destroyed, even by you. Now wake up my legend..."

Zero stirred and then opened his eyes. The pulse rate dropped down to normal level. He got up and smiled at Dr. Weil "Thank you Lord Weil. I almost thought I'd never wake up. Is there anything you would like me to do?"

----------

Ciel explained the mission to Megaman. "I'm not entirely sure where they keep the schematics for those laser turrets. But I believe that repair teams could. If you can cause minor damage to one, I believe that you could draw a repair team to you and they might have the blue prints."

Megaman nodded "That sounds simple enough. When do I start?"

"Whenever you prefer Megaman. Just like Zero, I never forced him to do a mission. If it suits you, then why not go now?"

Megaman nodded and smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me. I'll go right away."

The girl saluted "And I'll get back to my post." she said "Please be careful, Megaman X."

"Same here." added Ciel. "For all we know, if they receive any attacks they may suspect you." Megaman waved his hand dismissively. "You don't need to worry. I can take on some gigantic laser turrets any day, or my name isn't Megaman."

The girl laughed. "It isn't! Your name is Megaman X."

"Whatever." Megaman mumbled.

"Well I have to get back to my research." said Ciel "So whenever your ready, get to work."

She walked out. Megaman got ready to teleport out. "Oh by the way," he said to the girl "You know my name, but I don't know your name."

The girl blinked in surprise and then said. "My name? Oh, it's Alisi." She answered "Alisi Thorn."

Megaman nodded "Okay then, Alisi. Let's get to work!"


	14. Phase 2

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great chapter and thanks for adding me into your story. I am very flattered. I don't know what to say, except thanks. :) Thanks so much. :) And yes, I have noticed that you have gained quite a bit more of an audience with this story. i mean why wouldn't you? you are writing a good story here, so of course it was bound to happen. With Zero in it, of course people are going to like it. :) And knew it all along that you would. :) No doubt.

Now, about your one-shot. Got it taken care of completely, but i need a few answers from you first. Now you said you were going on a trip to south Carolina. Now what day are you leaving and for how long and if you know when you're coming back. I just need to know those few facts first. I am going to send the fic to you tonight for sure, but I will need that information first and then It'll be on it's way. I want you to get it before you leave. :) So just email me that much and we'll be set. :)

Well, that's all and talk to you later.

Alisi T. :)

**Me:** I thought you would like that :-). I actually had done that a long time ago, but I was excited when I posted this chapter. I'm glad you liked it!

As I said before, it was a nice one-shot. I haven't been doing much since I got back on Friday because I very suddenly caught a violent cold and I had a fever for about 1 and ½ days. I'm only just barely recovering now. So I hope you like this chapter. It is LONG!

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**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** You're leaving huh... Darn then I guess you may not update for a while. Anyways interesting chapter. I look forward to see what Weil has Zero do.

**Me:** If you liked this chapter, I'm sure you'll like this one. It is long and has a lot of action in it. I hope you like it!

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**ZBoi:** yay an update! ouch zero ( good ) us be ina world full of hurt now... Thorn?... she related to iris or something? well sounds like... haha nice one!

**Me:** Yeah, Zero being evil is never good. I hope you like this update too.

And no, Alisi Thorn has nothing to with _Iris_ Thorn. I just wrote that in for Alisi Thorndyke. She's a good friend and I wanted to add her in the story because 1- she's my friend, and 2- because she has the most interesting name that begins with A I've ever seen.

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**Archaon:** A bit of a slow and small chapter, but there is nothing wrong with that. While I'm very demanding when it comes to action scenes, both those I read and those I write, I believe character development must be a priority. Whoops, so that one was the operator. Yes I recognize it, although... Let's just say that while I have finished all six exe games and while I like them very much, I'm saddened the majority of exe fics is mediocre and boring... There are a few awesome ones, but not enough.

Anyway, the scene with Weil and Zero was well-played, although I'd like it to be a bit longer. Yes, Weil does have the annoying habit to DNA-resurrect fallen reploids as we saw in z3, although how much of their actual personality survives is debatable. If Fefnir is resurrected in the span of this story, I expect him to be much more of a pawn to Weil than he was till now.  
I like Ciel's plan to acquire the turret schematics. Luring in a repair crew is very creative indeed so kudos for that. Why, I'm even tempted to use the basic idea myself;-)  
Yes, Harpuia is the best of the three in many aspects, although I still think Phantom was stronger a warrior. So, you are against the Zero/Levi pairing. Well, I think it as plausible as the Zero/Ciel one. Oh, and in z2, Fefnir and Leviathan did fight Zero despite their duty to stop Elpizo. Along with Harpuia, they all implied how much they enjoy doing so...  
He doesn't really carry 64 weapons just their data... How about X's giga attacks, like the nova strike, the giga crush or the X-drive? Or even the midair dash.  
About the Zero knuckle, I think Zero should be able to snatch an enemy's (insert body part) and clobber something as he passes with or without the knuckle. The only thing it does is allowing him to interface with and control an enemy weapon system.  
Remember that X has survived at least a century of war and so his pacifist views only grew larger. Ciel has been fighting for what? Ten years? Perhaps much less.  
I have only played X1-3 and X8, but I can quote you most lines from any X game. I had to do so because my story uses many X series elements. Of course, it's entirely up to you.  
Anyway, keep up the good work!

**Me:** I totally agree with you on that point. There are about 2,462,581,384,651,354,321... Give or take a few Megaman Battle Network fics out there that I've given up searching for good ones. (I have found a few good ones out there though,)

There is an interesting twist in the story later on. I won't tell you what happens, but just remember. Dr. Weil's evil energy power is destroyed when the reploid carrying it is destroyed, so it won't work that way, if it can be helped. And reviving a reploid is not difficult, as you know, Zero's resurrection was no problem at all, and he had the same personality later as he did before. (And he was knocked into separate pieces, beat that! Go Zero!)

I'm afraid anything special like Giga Attacks or X-Drives or anything like that won't be added. Mid-Air dashes and stuff will be included, just no incredible attack moves. Sorry, but I want to keep it basic. Besides, if Zero lost his MEMORY while he was in hibernation, do you think data for a lot of huge attacks would linger in X's? I wanted to keep it basic, it made writing it simpler.

If you want to use a similar idea, go ahead. I'm glad I thought of that, it was- as not too many of my writing is, completely original. Just don't copy it completely, I heard of a person who is copying the real Banbie Bunny's stories practically word for word! That is not honorable. Just make it significantly different and it'll have my OK, okay? ;-)

I would seriously recommend Megaman X-4. It is, so far, the best Megaman X game I've played, and it has anime cartoons in it! You'll love it, just don't play as Megaman if you don't want some extreeeeeeeeeeeemly sappy girly voice coming from X. It is SICK-EN-ING.

I hope you like this chapter too. Thanks again for the review, it really is nice talking about the series like this.

* * *

Megaman landed outside the line of laser turrets. They were impressive. They were twenty-five feet tall and had fifteen-foot long barrels. They could rotate on large steel disks and were hinged to two triangles; enabling them to aim up or down. They were extremely powerful, one shot could seriously damage Megaman X, or destroy him.

Thankfully though, he landed outside of range. But it didn't look like he would be able to get too close before he would be spotted. He switched his head mic on "Alisi?"

Alisi answered "I can see you on my map Megaman. I'm sending over some equipment that should enable you to move in and set a bomb to a turret."

Megaman waited and after a while a transfer commenced next to him. When the light died down there was a large hover bike and a crash bomb. "Thanks." he said. "I think this should work."

"I hope it works." agreed Alisi "Because if it doesn't, your going to be living with some burns. As long as you stay out of the barrel's range, it won't fire. They're big and strong, but slow. Pleeease be careful!"

He picked up the crash bomb and jumped on the hover bike. He took hold of the bars and looked at the speedometer. "This is pretty fast." he remarked. "But I still wonder." he charged both of his busters, but retained the energy inside. He also loaded the crash bomb into his right buster to fire as he got close. "Alright!" he thought "It's time to blow the top of that turret!" He gunned the engines up and he shot towards the turret at an incredible speed. "Wooohoooo!" he yelled.

The speed was almost more than he could handle. If he had hair, it would be flying behind him tighter than a flag. His ears could hear nothing but the air rushing through his ears. He kept his eyes partly closed and grimaced slightly whenever he felt a bug hit his armor and bounce off. Like the TV station, the area was flat and there was almost zero vegetation anywhere.

Which made it perfect for riding a hover bike. He was a long distance away and he covered at least fifty feet per second. He suddenly heard a lot of blaring alarms and the laser turrets all began turning to aim at him; making an odd "zzzzzzzz" noise as they turned. He gritted his teeth. It wouldn't take 8 seconds for them to get a good aim! He had to think fast.

He swerved to the left. The turrets would have to keep turning. Megaman sped up. He began covering sixty feet per second. He was only three hundred feet away now. He began to notice that other turrets began turning. Now you have to understand, he was facing a veritable wall of turrets. Even thought he was turning away from some, others would have to take even less time to aim.

And it looked like they were about to lock on! Megaman sucked in a deep breath and aimed his busters behind him. He kept the hover bike on straight course, And prepared to fire. Finally, one of the laser turrets locked on and fired. Bzzzzat!

A large purple beam erupted from the turret. Megaman made a sharp right turn and the laser hit the ground! He couldn't see what damage it had done to the ground, but plenty of dirt and ground was vaporized in a second. "Come on…" thought Megaman "Only a short ways away!"

"BAM BAM!" Two more lasers fired! Megaman performed break-neck swerves to avoid one and then the other. This was not good. The engines on the rotators were fast, and he had not counted on that. Technology had gotten ahead of him, and he wished he had studied it more while he was in his elf-form.

Then suddenly he blinked out of his thoughts and realized with horror that he was slowing down and a laser had a lock on to him. The light of the laser began to shine and Megaman had only two seconds to react.

It seemed like everything was going in slow-motion. He saw the light of the laser build up inside the barrel. "NNNNNnnooooo..." he slooowly yelled. In two long, sweeping motions, he jerked his legs up behind him and he aimed his right buster behind him. The beam burst out of the cannon. "Biiizzzzzzzzaaaaat..."

He fired his buster and put all his power into his dash jets. "PPoooooofff!" His hover bike jerked forward just enough to miss the laser beam by a mere centimeter. He could feel the heat on him, rattling his joints. The ground behind him was turned to ashes.

Vrooom! Now everything was moving quickly again! He breathed a deep sigh of relief and drove the last thirty feet without trouble. He jerked up his left buster and aimed. A dozen or so drones ran out from underneath it and fired their blasters. They were no problem, as Megaman easily destroyed them with the gun on the hover bike.

He drove underneath the turrets and fired upwards. BANG! The crash bomb connected with the underside of one of the laser turret and began beeping. "Yeah!" he yelled triumphantly. He kept on driving till he was behind the base of the turret and hid. After a minute or so, the bomb exploded. It shook the walls and made it crumble a bit. Megaman peeked around the corner to see a few big chunks of barrel fall to the ground and other electric shorting out pieces of machinery.

"That should do it." muttered Megaman. He ducked back down and waited. A whole horde of drones ran forward looking around for whoever caused the blast. They searched for a while, and after fifteen minutes they gave up searching. No real traces were noticeable after the debris had fallen, and they would never think to look in their own base for whoever damaged the turret! Megaman kept as silent as he could, trying not to move too much. He listened hard though, and after a while he could hear someone calling a maintenance crew.

As the guards dispersed, he saw a number of reploids carrying large repair equipment. One of them carried an electronic notepad. "That must be the schematics." thought Megaman. "I think now is the time to get them." He took a few steps forward out from behind the wall.

Suddenly, there was a large transfer commencing right there underneath the turret! He dove back underneath as quick as he could, breathing heavily at almost being seen.

"Alright, I want you to all patrol this area." said a voice. Megaman gasped and peered around the corner again. It was Zero! "If Megaman X is here, notify me."

Megaman drew back and rubbed his fist across his forehead. Oh boy, this would take some thinking! How would he possibly get in now past Zero? The maintenance crew filed inside the elevator up inside the main laser turrets control room. Megaman charged both of his busters. If he wanted to get in there, he would have to fight hard!

Then, he heard a drone come patrolling along the wall. He looked and saw it was a drone with a stun arm stick weapon. A sudden idea formed in his mind.

He drew back and switched on the hover bike, not activating the motors. He dragged it over to the corner of the wall and waited. He reached out and snatched up the guard and dragged him behind the wall. He quickly punched him in the face, knocking him out. He dropped the guard on the ground and touched his hand to the guards arm weapon. He downloaded the stunning blade to his weapons system.

"This is fun, being able to steal weapons from smaller enemies." thought Megaman "I wonder why I never thought of that before?"

Then he jumped onto the hover bike and gunned it to full power. Megaman was relieved at how silent this hover bike was, despite its power. He turned sharply around the wall and shot furiously for Zero. Zero was standing in the middle of the area while the guards patrolled around him. He didn't seem to hear the hover bike as it approached him.

Megaman turned a pale yellow and a long yellow electric stick appeared in his left buster. He drove the Stun Blade right in Zero's back, just at the moment when Zero heard him coming.

Zero felt electricity crackle around him and he collapsed jittering. Normally, the weapon would have not have cause much damage, but being upgraded to Megaman's power level, and being hit by it at such an incredible speed, it wreaked havoc. Zero didn't even scream when he hit the ground. His back armor had a huge dent in the waist. Megaman stopped and looked at the prone form of Zero lying on the ground. The guards had all stopped and were so surprised at the sudden appearance of Megaman; and their leader lying on the ground that they all stood in stunned amazement.

Megaman bit his lip thoughtfully. "Why don't I take him with me?" he thought "Ciel should be able to save him."

He was about to drive back and get him when the alarm sounded again and the guards charged Megaman. Megaman shook his head in irritation. More soldiers would appear, and that would make it impossible to steal the schematics! He drove around in a large circle, knocking down all the guards down. He then steered towards the elevator. There was one guard there who fired a few shots.

Megaman performed an old trick he had learned a hundred years ago. He suddenly jumped off the hover bike and left it running. It spun wildly into the guard, obliterating him, and the door! He dashed into the elevator and it lifted him to the control floor. Once it opened, he saw the maintenance crew working on the barrel of the laser turret. One of them put down the electronic notepad and went up a ladder into the barrel.

Megaman dashed forward and scooped up the pad. One of the other men saw him and yelled "Oi, Look! There's a bally blue man trying to steal our jolly blueprints!"

One of them signaled the guards below and scooped up the rest of their tools. "Let's get out of here before he steals our sandwiches!"

Megaman knew he had to find a different way out. The guards would begin pouring out of the door in a few seconds, he needed some other way. He saw another elevator door leading down to- what the sign said "POWER PLANT" He decided to take it. He ran forward and tore down the- surprisingly weak, stainless steal door. Unfortunately, the elevator car was not there. He turned around and faced the rest of the guards who had come up- and were running out of, another elevator opposite his.

Thinking quickly, he whipped up the stainless steal plate. The guards fired their guns, but regretted it when the shots bounced off and repelled into them! The elevator car finally arrived. Megaman jumped in letting fly two charged shots from his busters while the door closed.

----------

Back at the base, Ciel was trying without success to reassure the anxious Alisi. Unknown to them, the laser beam had shorted out his head mic, and the white reploid thought he was dead; and she was worried sick. Ciel didn't though, the faint signals from it kept coming in, and she faintly heard the sounds of firing guns.

"Come on Alisi." she urged "Keep trying to contact him. He might very well be alive!"

Alisi resumed punching in commands while trying to keep herself calm. "Come on Megaman." she murmured. "Please respond!"

----------

Megaman stepped out of the elevator and looked around. To his relief, he heard no alarm, no guards and no_body_ else. He clutched the blueprints, leaned against the wall and sighed.

What he saw surprised him. It was a large water area, almost like a long sewer, except the water was pure and clean. He saw several machines in the water that seemed to be utilizing the water and pumping it upwards.

Suddenly, his head mic crackled. "Oh man! I totally forgot!" thought Megaman. He spoke into the head mic. "Alisi? Are you there?"

There was more static, and then it cleared. He could hear both Ciel and Alisi speak. "Megaman! Oh, I was so worried!" said Alisi.

Ciel spoke next "Megaman! Are you alright?"

Megaman nodded. "Yes I am. I suppose one of the laser beams must have shorted out my head mic. I have the schematics and am teleporting out now."

But something went wrong. Megaman's teleporting device would not work! "My teleportation device won't work!" he said confusedly.

He heard Ciel slam her fist on the console. "Oh no! Your teleportation device must have shorted out too! Oh well, I suppose you'll have to make it out some other way. Oh by the way, that satellite dish has already been tested and it works beautifully."

Megaman nodded "That's great. Alisi, could you please tell me where to go down here?"

"Sure Megaman. You need to follow the sewer to your right." She said, sounding much calmer now. "This sewer only leads in four straight lines and all you need to do is follow this one till it ends."

Megaman jumped in and landed on the bottom of the tunnel. He ran as fast as running would permit underwater. He didn't want to have to deal with more robots. He couldn't help admiring the beauty of the water. It was so clear and clean that he would take the time to swim in it, if he had more time. There was only a slight tint of blue in the water, but that was about it. It was THAT clear.

Ciel's voice suddenly came over the head mic. "Megaman! I'm detecting three large transfers coming to your position! They might be the other three guardians. I'm trying to stop them now."

Megaman charged his busters and readied himself. After a few seconds Ciel spoke again. "Megaman! Using the satellite dish I was able to prevent two of them, but one is still coming. Be careful!"

Megaman nodded, then remembered that they could not see him and spoke. "Thanks Ciel. Alisi, please keep watching and give me advice whenever you have some."

"I will Megaman." said Alisi. Then the transfer commenced. It was Leviathan, the guardian of the element of water and ice. She stood before him and smiled. "Hello Megaman." she said quietly.

Megaman aimed both of his busters. She didn't look particularly alarmed. She actually leaned on the wall with one hand and kept talking. "Not quite what you expected huh? I'll bet you didn't know that these lasers were powered by water!"

Megaman's face dismissed the idea of further talk. "I'm not here to chat, I need to leave here. Please let me go in peace, I don't want to hurt you."

Leviathan laughed airily. "Please Megaman. You're over a hundred years old. You? Hurt ME? To be honest, I don't want to hurt you either. But I really don't have a choice. I must, and will destroy you."

Megaman shook his head. "You can't destroy me anymore than you can keep the earth from turning." He said. "I didn't want to destroy Fefnir, but he kept fighting me, and he regretted it later. He told me so, and he told me to tell you..." his voice trailed off.

Leviathan looked at him with a bored expression. "What did he say, that he loved me?" she asked.

Megaman shook his head. "Um, no. He died before he could complete what he was going to say."

Leviathan shrugged and hefted her staff. "Oh well. I really don't care if he had a crush on me or not. But let's forget that, right now I must- shall we say, liquidate you." she swam upwards and hovered for a moment.

Megaman tried one last time. "Please don't make me do this." he pleaded "The last thing I want to do is destroy another one of you guardians!"

Leviathan ignored him. "Don't go easy on me just because I'm a girl now!" she yelled. She swam at a surprising speed over him, a small field of ice mines floating in her wake. They drifted slowly downward. Megaman fired his charged shots at Leviathan, but both missed. He ran forward and shot rapidly, destroying the ice mines, which exploded. Unfortunately, he forgot to turn back. Leviathan swam up behind him and struck him in the back with her staff and he fell forward on his face.

She swam forward, hoping to pin him to the ground with her staff. Megaman suddenly twisted around and fired a non-charged shot at her. She swam sharply upward, but the shot struck her leg, causing her to flip around awkwardly above Megaman. Megaman pivoted himself on the bottom and- using the weightlessness of the water, whirled upward and landed a neat double leg kick in her stomach.

She gasped and floated up to the surface of the water. She recovered though, and she swam down halfway. She grinned at him. "Not bad Megaman. Boy, you old legends always seem to present some kind of challenge. But you are still no match for me." Megaman sighed and flexed his arms and shoulders. This was getting annoying.

She spun her staff and three torpedo like robots appeared. They flew forward. Megaman dashed jumped to avoid them all. One would go low, another would go at head height, the other upwards. Megaman's dash jump aided him in missing the torpedoes. As he floated in the water, he let fly a charged shot. Leviathan shot an ice mine. They both collided, but the shot kept going, it hit Leviathan's staff- sending it spinning out of her hands.

She cried out in shock and surprise. Megaman rushed over and picked it up. He looked over at the now crestfallen, weaponless Leviathan, who never looked more hopeless in all her life. She let herself float to the bottom and stood staring down, shame written across her face.

Megaman looked at the staff. He couldn't use it unfortunately. He looked at her and said. "Well? Had enough?"

She looked at him dismally. "You defeated me Megaman... I didn't expect that. I'll let you go on, you won."

Megaman nodded. "Good. If it's any consolation, you're a bigger challenge than Fefnir was." he tossed her the staff and continued his progress down the sewer.

Idiot.

Leviathan swam forward silently, but quickly. She fired an torpedo and an ice mine from her staff. They both hit Megaman dead on. The explosion blurred the water with bubbles for a few moments. Megaman was hurtled towards the wall and unexpectedly sucked up a water intake. There was a lot of loud rupture noises coming from several tubes and Megaman finally popped out of another intake and floated towards the floor, looking very battered and bruised, not from the Ice Mine and Torpedo alone, but the machines as well.

Leviathan watched as the water cleared, and smiled when she saw Megaman lying on the ground. He didn't seem to be moving.

She walked forward and lifted her spear. Megaman opened his eyes and sense her presence behind him. He rolled out of the way, rubbing his shoulder. He glared up at her angrily. "You little double-crossing snake!" he growled.

Leviathan laughed heartily, which made Megaman even more mad. Alisi's voice suddenly crackled over his head mic. "Megaman! I found a weakness. It's fire! Switch to Flame Ball!"

Megaman's body flashed red as he switched weapons. He stood up awkwardly and fired a flame ball. Unfortunately, it merely smoldered as it came in contact with the water. Leviathan laughed again. "Oh please. You need to find something a little more substantive to get me!"

Megaman frowned. The water must have contained a chemical against the fire.He stood thinking while she laughed. The Flame Ball wouldn't work, but switching to different weapons gave him an idea...

He fell to the ground again. Leviathan advanced forward cautiously. She lifted her spear high and swung downwards. Crrrracck! Her spear was stopped by a short beam of yellow electricity. Megaman's body had turned to pale yellow and he was using the Stun Blade to parry with her staff. Leviathan felt a tingling sensation wave over her, and she felt nervous. Water was a good conductor for electricity. She had better be careful!

Megaman forced her staff away and stood ready. Leviathan backed away nervously, hoping he would not realize how that blade would affect her. He ran forward and sliced with his stun blade. She blocked it with her staff and struck back at him. It hit Megaman in the side. She expected him to draw back, but instead he jumped forward after she struck and stabbed the stun blade into her chest. Electricity engulfed Leviathan and she felt her whole body go rigid with pain.

She suddenly felt very sorry she had tried to defeat him a second time.

Megaman waited for a few seconds and then drew it back. He changed back to blue and fired a plasma shot. She was knocked down to the ground, shivering from the electric shock. She tried to speak, stammering for a few moments. "M-Megam-man..." she gasped. "I-I..had-Enou-gh. Pant pant I c-can't take anymore. You win. Please go."

Megaman stood looking at her suspiciously for a moment, then decided she was out of the action. He turned a ran down the sewer. Leviathan watched him go, and then gritted her teeth angrily. "I will not.. be beaten by that blue legend!" she said determinedly. She lay still as Megaman chanced to look back. He turned away again, apparently satisfied that she was down. Afterwards she swam up and out of the water and onto the rows of machinery along the wall. She ran across them, catching up with Megaman easily.

Megaman never knew what hit him. He was just running when a mine hit his head. It exploded and he tumbled to the ground, and his helmet was knocked off. He was stunned and he felt complete hate towards the Leviathan surge through him. She was not one to be trusted. He felt her staff smack him on the back and he felt his electric circuits short out. Sort of like having the wind knocked out of him.

He got up to his knees and looked up at Leviathan, who had a very evil grin on her face. "Did you honestly think I would just let you go?" she asked. She hit him on the head again with her staff, expecting him to go down. But he did not. He took the hit, but leapt forward and wrapped his arms around her ankles. She felt herself lifted up, and then hurtled down. Megaman smashed her into the floor and then changed back to stun blade and hit her hard. For ten straight seconds he held the electrifying weapon there, making absolutely sure that she was thoroughly electrified.

Leviathan felt all her strength begin to drain. "Megaman!" she screamed "Stop it! You'll kill me!"

Megaman didn't buy it. He wasn't falling for that fake defeat act anymore! He drew back the blade and switched back to plasma power. He fired repetitive shots that pummeled her limp body till it was completely and utterly disabled. He was thorough and fast, leaving nothing to be desired. She lay panting heavily. She was defeated completely; She could no longer move.

Megaman lowered his buster and he saw what he had done. He felt his compassion for the guardian returning. "Good lord…" he whispered. "I...I'm sorry Leviathan."

Leviathan gave a week, dry laugh. "Don't worry, I don't blame you for not trusting me." Leviathan did not have long to live. She reached her hand up for Megaman's. "Megaman... thank you. I don't know what was controlling me, but I'm glad it's gone now... Take my weapon, you could use it."

Megaman took her hand and downloaded her power. "Leviathan... maybe I could help you back to the resistance base."

Leviathan lifted her head up and shook her head, "Oh no you don't." she said quietly. "I don't want that. I would rather die a fighter for Neo Arcadia, even though I was manipulated. Tell Zero that I'm sorry we didn't get to fight again." she lay her head back and sighed. "Please go easy on Harpuia Megaman." she whispered. "I... I love him..." her voice drifted off and her eyes closed in death.

Megaman grabbed his head and pulled at his hair. "Oh why does it always have to be like this!" he said sorrowfully. He picked up her staff and placed it in her hand and picked up his own helmet. Turning on the fortunately stable head mic, he spoke. "Leviathan is dead. I think my teleportation device is coming back on line. Tell Ciel to have a major repair work team ready, I'll need it."

He took one last pitiful look at Leviathan and teleported out, leaving her peaceful form at the bottom, hoping against everything that whoever found her would realize that the one who had killed her at least had not been unprovoked and had consideration, at least.

But she was still dead. Megaman felt grateful that he had Leviathan's weapon. If anything it would come in handy, if he had to fight Harpuia.


	15. Good Friends

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****Zboi:** geez x gets to kill all the guardians huh... not zero.. LOL nice chappy, pls update ASAP! 

**Me:** This story is supposed to be different from others. I finally did some super editing and changes and here is the chapter. I hope you like it!

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**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great chapter and thanks again for adding me into your story. :) I am very flattered. :)

Sorry to hear about your cold. I do hope you feel better soon. :) I know how those colds can get. :)

Well, after i finish my math homework, i'll begin writing my chapter 11 to my story For the Love of Music. It's almost done after chapter 12. :) So keep watch for those. They should be up at the end of this week. Well, chapter 11 will be anyway lol.

Talk to you later. :)

Alisi T.

**Me:** Thanks a lot. I thought you would like being included in the story:-) My cold is completely gone, thank you for asking! I've been feeling great these past few days.

I already reviewed your story, but I'll just say again that it was very great reading it and it was considerably different from all the thousands of NT Warrior fics out there. Good job!

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**supercookies567:** Interesting Chapter.I look forward to reading more! XD

**Me:** Well then get reading! ;-)

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**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** Not bad action wise, but it was ,to a degree, humorous:) I look forward to a Harpuia/X fight if that's what you have planned. Keep up the great work:D

**Me:** Thank you very much! I won't say anything definite, but this chapter leads up to a battle, no doubt about that! (The battle will be in the next update.)

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**Archaon:** Sorry I'm late, I started a new mmx story and I was kind of busy...  
Remember that X and Zero are not really repl(icate andr)oids. They are androids and their design and capabilities differ, despite reploids being based on X. They are also classified as Megamen, meaning they have unlimited potential. Have you read the X and Zero manga fan scanlations. If not, I could send you a link.  
Of course you won't tell me! Don't you dare do so, I want to read it;-)  
Don't worry, IF I actually use it, I'll credit you at the end unless I can make it so different as to be unrecognizable.  
I have seen some X4 videos. Yes X's VA is... (explicitly deleted) You should really see the Japanese version. The voices there are perfect.  
Anyway, it seems X still remembers the leet X2 bike tricks. Fortunately no poor green biker dude this time. I felt he incapacitated Zero a bit too easily, but the stun baton idea was very good. I honestly expected him to ditch the mission then and there and salvage Zero, but I guess it's too early yet. X's escape was also very good and as soon as I read the word 'water' I knew what was coming right away. The battle was good, although the three times encore was a bit too much even for Levi. Her weakness here was electricity? I wish that had been true in the games. First time I fought her I tried the thunder chip... You can guess the rest:-)  
Leviathan's last words were a relief, seeing how she was freed, but because I always considered the guardians sharing a sibling relationship it seemed a bit weird. Oh, well, that's just me. I guess it's Harpuia's time in a couple of chapters then.  
Keep up the good work!

**Me:** I know just about everything about Megaman and Zero and what they are. But thanks for pointing that out anyway. I've not read the X and Zero manga, so if you could send me a link, I'd appreciate it.

Just try not to copy it word for word. That's my only condition. I'll try to see the RockmanX4 clips if I can. (Why is it that the American dubs can never be as good as the Japanese? We Americans need to get on our toes here!)

Thanks, I liked the Stun Blade idea too! The only reason Zero went down as easily as he did, was because Megaman was going so fast and struck him so hard (And plus, the Stun Blade's power was like 3x compared to the drone's power. That's because he's using it of course!) Zero would have to be knocked out for a few seconds at least.

Of course I couldn't have Megaman rescue Zero so early on. That would ruin the story:-)

Really? I though you would get the impression that Fefnir was coming when you saw "water"! Ha ha ha… Anyway, the guardians do share a sibling relationship, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can't fall in love with each other. (Except for Fefnir, that is.) I think your idea is good too, but I decided to include that in the story.

Leviathan's constant never giving up was supposed to show the real power that was going on inside her. Megaman spared her because he had respect for her, but the dark energy manipulation would not allow her to let him escape. So it wasn't altogether her fault.

I know her weakness isn't electricity, but I thought since they were underwater and Megaman X was still original (Instead of upgraded like Zero was) that he should use that instead.

Harpuia is coming soon! He is in this chapter for a short time though, so don't look it over. It will be extremely relevant in future chapters. I thank you again for these long reviews, it really is great reading them. It's too bad there isn't too more of you guys out there. ;-)

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**RavenIga14:** Whoa...intense. My eyes actually started to water when Leviathan died. sniff Anyway, Levianthan loves Harpuia... didn't see that coming. Just so you know, me almost starting to cry is a good thing not a bad thing. That just means I'm so into the story that it feels almost like real life. Heh heh, I cried at the end of KH, Now that was sad. Please update.

**Me:** I know that if the story was so intense it made you cry, then I know you must like it a lot. (What is KH?) Don't cry too much now, okay?

Sorry that this chapter was so late in coming folks. I've not taken the time recently to upload it, but I promise you that I noticed some terrible errors in the story and I did some huge revamping and additions. So though this is late in coming, it will have been more worth the wait than if I just uploaded it normally. Please take the time to read and review if you can!

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Megaman landed right in Ciel's lab. He leaned against the wall and panted heavily. Ciel and Alisi both ran forward to greet him. Alisi- for some unknown reason, looked practically overjoyed at the sight of him, but she stopped short at the sight of him. Megaman was battered and busted. His head had two horrible bruises on it, his back was smoking and his right arm was disabled.

Alisi finally walked forward and laid a hand on his arm. "Megaman, are you alright?" she asked gently. Megaman just gave her a look of total incredulousness and limped by her; shoving the schematics into her hands. "No, I'm not alright." he answered disgustedly. "What do you think? Ciel, where is that repair team I asked you for?"

Ciel felt a little confused. Megaman's manner seemed changed. He was acting gruff and demanding. She shook her head at Megaman's question. "I'm sorry Megaman. But all the repair teams are still working on the Reistance Base and the vault. Everyone's occupied."

Megaman whirled on her with an enraged look. "What do you mean, occupied? I'm practically doing everything for this resistance base here. I want a repair team now, and make it quick!"

Now Ciel was shocked. Megaman was acting completely out of line. He kept limping out of the lab and towards Zero's room. Alisi went after him and ran in front of him. "What was that all about?" she demanded angrily. She slapped him across the face and glared at him. "Just what do you think you're doing, yelling at Ciel like that when she can do nothing about the circumstances?"

Megaman took the slap and stumbled. Normally it wouldn't have done much, but to his already severely damaged body, it felt like a board hitting him. Alisi kept yelling at him about how he had acted, and he decided that he had had enough.

Alisi felt herself being slammed against the wall with Megaman's hand on her throat. She struggled and pulled at his arms. She should have been able to free herself, considering Megaman's broken down state, but unfortunately, Megaman's anger seemed to summon superior strength.

"You listen to me." he growled. "You are nothing but a watcher. You have never fought a reploid in your life. You saw nothing of what happened to me down there, except now. Do you have any idea what it is like to go through something like that? Huh!"

He released his grip and Alisi staggered away from the wall, struggling to get the power running through to her head running properly. Megaman laid a hand on the wall and limped the rest of the way into Zero's room and into the energizing capsule.

---

Zero and Harpuia both stood before Dr. Weil. It was a completely confused and utterly bewildered Dr. Weil that they faced right then. Dr. Weil, was confused with Megaman's actions. The actions at the laser turrets and at the TV Station. He was bewildered that his guardians were unable to stop them. He was bewildered that he had lost in, only two days, two of his guardians. And he was utterly bewildered that Zero and Harpuia could not help Leviathan.

_He is one confused and bewildered guy!_

Confusedly, he asked "What on earth kept you from getting Megaman X?" He was too- shall we say, confused to yell.

Zero shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure sir. We were all on our way to the sewer when something blocked our transfer."

Harpuia nodded. "He's right my Lord." he confirmed "Some... barrier prevented everyone's entries, except for Leviathan's."

Dr. Weil paced back and forth, trying to figure out what was going on. It seemed like the blue legend had suddenly turned burglar, stealing a satellite dish and some laser schematics. No, it couldn't be that. It had to be something larger, probably something beyond normal comprehension. "Then I must put my mind to work." he thought "No matter about the petty thefts, what could they be up to?"

He stopped pacing and turned to Zero and Harpuia. "I need to be alone for a few hours. Zero, I want you and Sage Harpuia to go and retrieve Leviathan's body. Send it to be revived along with Fefnir's, it will take some time. Go now, I need to think." Zero and Harpuia both bowed and left the room.

Outside, Harpuia faced Zero. "This will not go unpunished." he said with a cold, icy tone in his voice. Zero nodded. "It will not, I assure you."

Harpuia didn't know it, but Zero's attitude was abnormal for someone being held under the control of dark energies. It seemed that his normal compassionate and good nature seemed to blend together and have Zero feel sorrow for his now fallen guardian.

Harpuia shook his head "No Zero, **I** assure you. It will only take one of us to retrieve Leviathan's body, and I want you to go and do that while I fix Megaman. I am going to find him and destroy him myself."

Zero nodded understandingly. "If you must, I won't stand in your way. I believe that I'll go myself and try to help the repairs on Fefnir and Leviathan, but..."

Harpuia glanced at him nervously "What?"

Zero sighed. "I don't know. Leviathan has a pretty slim chance of revival. During the reviving process she may be a little... Changed, disfigured."

Harpuia grimaced at the word. He stared down at the floor not speaking. Zero reluctantly began walking down the hallway, and then turned. "Maybe you should come with me. See her beforehand." he said.

Harpuia lifted his gaze from the floor and nodded. "I think I will. Did you know Zero that..." Harpuia walked up beside him. "I loved her?"

Zero blinked in surprise. "No, I'm afraid not. Did you know if she loved you?"

Harpuia shook his head dismally. "No. I never knew. I never asked her, and I never told her how I felt."

His voice began to fill with anger and self-hate. "I never said anything that relatively meant "I love you." And now she's dead; And probably won't be able to live to know how I felt." his eyes filled with tears and his hand grabbed at the sabers he held behind him. "I thought that hiding my emotions were strength. But I was wrong, and now…"

He looked at Zero with determination and a dark want for revenge in his eyes. "Megaman X will pay... I'll make sure of that."

* * *

Megaman had temporarily shut himself down to allow the energy in his body build up. He had lain there for almost an hour, the resentment still lingered in his mind, despite the fact that he had not had any choice. Something penetrated his arm and he woke up startled. He saw Alisi sitting beside him with a welding tool, penetrating through his armor. He grimaced lightly.

Alisi lifted her welding mask. "Hello Megaman. How are you feeling?"

Megaman closed his eyes again. "Better thanks. Hmmm..." he rubbed his head thoughtfully. "My bruises are gone. Where's my helmet?"

Alisi pointed to a table where his helmet was. It was repaired and painted, looked better than it had at first. In fact, his whole body looked like it had all the dents pounded out, and it had been repainted.

He looked at her in surprise "You did all that?" he asked.

Alisi nodded. "I did. You were too damaged to notice. I'm the only one free to work on you so I'm your entire repair team right here. I really am sorry for slapping you."

Megaman shook his head. He felt guilty at acting so rude and now having someone helping him; cheerfully, as if nothing had happened. "No, I'm sorry. I acted out of line and I should have controlled myself better."

Alisi smiled and patted him on the head. "Thanks. I almost thought you had become very gruff with everyone. Now hold still while I reestablish these sensory wires." she flipped down her mask and resumed welding. Megaman gritted his teeth. It now seemed like the heat hurt more being awake. After a few seconds she lifted off the armor and began exploring his arm. She took two instruments and began rearranging some wires.

Megaman felt a funny feeling in his shoulder. It tickled and he found himself smiling. "Hee hee, that tickles." he giggled.

Alisi grinned behind her mask and tapped something in his arm. The tickling feeling disappeared and she continued working. "Megaman, why did you act so rude in the first place?" she asked. Megaman blushed slightly and sat up in his capsule, careful not to disturb Alisi's work.

"I.. I felt angry at myself Alisi." he answered. "I feel that way often. Or at least, I did feel that way often. Have you ever... this is an odd question, but have you ever killed a reploid before?"

Alisi looked up at him in surprise. "That _is_ an odd question. No I haven't. I've not even been in a real battle."

She finally finished work on his wires and began welding his armor back on. Megaman sighed again in irritation and didn't say anything till she was done.

"I resent that sort of thing Alisi." he continued. "It may surprise you, but I never want to kill anyone at all. Especially reploids like the guardians who seem to have free minds. I try to negotiate with them, but it seems that no matter how hard I try, they seem to always want to fight to the death."

Alisi removed her welding mask and sat by listening as Megaman went on. "Despite the fact that along with Zero and others, I have fought, and fought and fought to try and maintain justice and peace between humans and reploids, there always seems to be the price of life to pay in that large bill of maintenance, and nothing should be worth that." His face grew sad and remorseful. "I have fought and killed tens of thousands of robots and reploids Alisi. You have no idea how it feels after all these years to destroy something you know is priceless, yet with no other choice in hand."

He stood up and walked over to the table and picked up his helmet. "I find myself, wanting more and more for their to be a way to gain peace without war; it makes no sense. I suppose my role in the play is to be an instrument of power and force. My destiny lies in the battlefield Alisi. It practically started there and it will end there. Hopefully alongside my friends and the ones I love, who are few now. I must not lose one more, which is why I absolutely must save Zero. But I keep thinking something else may have to be sacrificed yet that could have been used for a greater good."

He strapped his helmet on and gave a wry smiled. "But I suppose I'm making you feel depressed. My friends began calling me a pacifist when I talked like this."

"Feeling responsibility does not make you a pacifist." Alisi suddenly began speaking. "And I wouldn't blame you for wanting peace, Megaman. But look here, you can't blame yourself for being the original reploid that Dr. Cain copied time and again. What you've done to make up for it was never wrong, and there'll always be sacrifices. But taking so much blame is ridiculous. You're not some infallible robot."

Megaman X raised his eyes in surprise. "You know more about me than I thought." he remarked.

"I studied you when Zero first came to the resistance. Me and some others wanted to know about your history and I found your history interesting too."

Megaman hadn't thought of his responsibility feelings in the way Alisi told him. It was weird, he began to feel that his feelings of the past, all the blame and guilt he placed on himself, began to lose sense to him, and current feelings of self-blame disappeared. He realized, much more easily than he did back in the Maverick Wars, that he wasn't a reploid guilty of the existence of the battle between humans and their machinery.

"I never really though about it like that…" Megaman said aloud. "Thanks Alisi, I'll think about that. I'm going to go and see if Ciel has anything she wants me to do."

Alisi smiled. "Your welcome. By the way, You didn't survive all these years just to kill, you know." she said. "You do at least have a heart."

Megaman smiled back. "Thanks, Alisi. You're a good friend."

Alisi smiled shyly. She followed Megaman on his way to Ciel's lab. On the way, Megaman's mood increased from just smiling to almost laughing cheerfulness. "Why are you so cheerful all of a sudden?" she asked. "Just a minute ago you were about as gloomy as a person who had been to a hockey-stick swallowing party."

Megaman stopped her and laid his hands on her shoulders. "Because… you just eliminated a feeling that's been haunting me every day of my life since I first destroyed Sigma in the first Maverick War. I feel more relief than I've ever felt in my life, and you're the one who gave it to me."

He took both her hands and gripped them tightly. "Alisi, I'm honored to have you as my watcher."

Alisi blushed furiously, but she didn't look to the floor. She kept looking at him and X smiled back at her for several wonderful moments. Alisi couldn't believe anyone, let alone Megaman X, would ever think of her this way, and then it began to feel like she had swallowed a hockey stick herself.

Megaman let go and went into the lab. Alisi followed, but not before she had given a quiet sob and had rubbed the tears from her eyes.

---

Unbeknownst to them, Ciel and Cerveau had been watching them on one of her monitors. She had rerouted a security camera to her viewer so she could watch him. His earlier outburst had put doubt in her mind, so she decided it would be best if she kept an eye on him. She paid special attention when Alisi had entered to repair him, just in case he got angry again.

It went fine. Megaman was perfectly calm and he apologized to Alisi for his behavior. During and after his repairs, he had begun to talk about how much he really hated war and battles. She was sort of surprised, but she could understand how he felt. The way he talked about it made her feel even more sad about the battle they were currently fighting. She had never liked fighting herself.

After he had finished talking, he put his helmet on and left. Ciel switched the view to the hallway and saw what happened there. Ciel felt a lump in her throat build up and she swallowed hard. The scene reminded her of how much she missed Zero and his constant encouragement. She suddenly felt very lonely.

Cerveau saw it and some tears filled his eyes and he said "Sniff Aw.. That really was beautiful, wasn't it Ciel?" he took one of his gloves and wiped his eyes with it.

Ciel smiled a little bit at his response. She got up and patted him on the shoulder. "Come on." she said "I need to talk to Megaman."

Cerveau swallowed and cleared his throat, wiping his eyes dry. "Ahem! Well alright then. But boy, that sure was nice." They both walked into the hallway and encountered Alisi and Megaman.

Megaman folded his hands together and said "I apologize for my behavior, Ciel. You probably have enough problems to deal with without having me acting out of line. I'll try to be more.. understanding in the future."

Ciel sighed and nodded. "Thank you Megaman. That really helps me out a lot. I'm going to need your help again in the next mission. I feel a little uncomfortable with it though."

Megaman thought for a moment. "I have to go steal those surveillance tapes, don't I?" he guessed.

Ciel sighed again. "Yes." she replied. "I think it's a little too much to ask Megaman. We could just broadcast what we have now and that should help. If we-"

Megaman interrupted her. "Ciel, we will have only one chance to make an attempt like this. If we want to do this, we should leave no room for doubt. Dr. Weil must be banished once and for all."

Cerveau nodded. "One of the most convincing things to convict Dr. Weil would be a show of his own act. Nobody could disprove that." Ciel finally nodded and smiled at them. "I suppose you're right. We've gotten this far, why not go all the way? Come into my lab Megaman. I want to generally brief you on your mission."

Megaman followed her into her lab; along with Alisi and Cerveau. She displayed a large map on the screen. It had some general schematics for Neo Arcadia. "I built Neo Arcadia, so I have a general idea of how things work there. There may be some differences, but I don't think any were made in the current war we are having."

She zoomed in on Dr. Weil's fortress. "Security Cameras are everywhere and so are guards and drones, so I want you to be extra careful. I've done all the research I need to on the Ciel System so I'll be your watcher. Any questions?"

Megaman raised his hand. "I have one." he said "I think we may be able to disable their security systems from the inside. Do you mind if I take Cerveau with me?"

Ciel looked at Cerveau. "Do you want to go with him?" she asked.

Cerveau jumped to Megaman's side. "Of course I would! Do you think I wouldn't?"

Ciel nodded. "Alright. Both of you may go. I have a small hunch that I can slightly recode the Ciel System to... well never mind about that. Cerveau I want you to take your equipment and one of the largest blasters we have. You will need protection. And Megaman, watch out for Zero. He has a weapon that could trap you and you might not be able to get away."

Megaman nodded. "Alright then. Let's go Cerveau!"

"Can I go with them?" asked Alisi.

Ciel looked at her doubtfully. "I don't think so Alisi. You have no fighting experience and you might be more of a hindrance than a help."

Alisi looked at Megaman hopefully. "Please take me with you!" she begged. Megaman thought for a moment, then pulled her aside into a corner of the room.

"Listen Alisi." he whispered. "I would love to take you with me. But remember the talk we just had? There is one thing you still have Alisi. Innocence. You do not want to lose that by fighting with me or anything like that, because once it's done, you'll feel it all your life."

Alisi's eyes filled with tears again. "I don't want to come to fight, Megaman. I just want to come along to help protect you. That's all. I only want to help."

Megaman was touched by this. He smiled a little "That's nice of you Alisi, but I still don't think- hey, protection? That gives me an idea!"

Megaman looked over to Cerveau. "Cerveau? Do you have a spare Shield Boomerang?"

Cerveau nodded. "Sure I do, but you won't be able to use it."

Megaman walked over to him and asked. "Could Alisi use it?"

Cerveau looked confused. "Y-Yes, she could. But why?"

"I just want her to stand by to offer protection whenever we need it. Go get it please."

Cerveau shrugged and walked out. Megaman turned to Ciel. "Ciel, if it's all right with you, I would feel better if Alisi went with us."

Ciel agreed and Alisi ran over to Megaman hugging his arm. "Oh thank you Megaman!" she cried.

Megaman pulled his arm away and laughed. "That's alright. But let's go before anyone else tries to come as well. Ciel, please get the transerver ready." Ciel typed some commands into her computer and stood up. "O.K. Don't let Cerveau or Alisi get hurt. Good luck!"

Megaman gave her a thumbs up. "Right. See you later." he ran out with Alisi to the transerver. "I hope." he muttered.


	16. Phase Three A

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great chapter and I'm going to help Megaman and Cerveau kick some major reploid tail. :) YAY! I can't wait to see what happens next. Update soon. :)

Alisi T.

**Me:** Thank you very much! The story doesn't necessarily progress in this chapter, but I hope you'll like it anyway.

- - -

**supercookies567:** Wow the storys going great! I really enjoyed the chapter! XD

**Me:** I'm glad you liked it, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much. :-)

- - -

**ZBoi:** Aww tats so touching... takes rubber glove and wipes eyes

**Me:** Really? Good, that's a good thing in the case of the story.

- - -

**Archaon:** hope you liked the links...  
Wow, X snapped at some point there. This only adds to what I think about him becoming the seal for the dark elf. He had been weary of the world and of war and instead of trying to find something better, he chose to use himself... I think you rushed his change of heart a bit. You should have let a cliffhanger and resolve it in the next chapter, but still it was good to see him back.  
As for that NA part, at first it was cracking funny what with Weil's portrait, then turned into drama but... I think Zero is starting to recover a bit. He is not the ruthless general he was some chapters back. Oh, well, there goes X's chance not to kill Sage...  
Alisi's jump in the mission was a bit awkward and I doubt how much help she can be, but it'll be pretty interesting to see what happens next.  
Btw, KH is probably kingdom hearts...  
Keep up the good work.

**Me:** His character change was something I did need to slow down considerably, however I can't see how I'd do it with a cliffhanger, and besides, I'd hate to leave something like that as a cliffhanger anyway. Oh well…

Cracking funny? That sounds familiar, Gromit! ;-)

I'm going to try and make Alisi's jump in the story as good as possible. But it would make sense that she'd want to go anyway, in my opinion. Besides, something dangerous is bound to come up in which Megaman will need to come to her rescue.

- - -

**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** Hey took me a while to give feedback but now I can again! good job portraying X's thoughts and emotions. This is how I thought X would've been portrayed being peace loving and all:) Another good story!

**Me:** At least you found some time to review. Thanks. I'm glad you like the scene with Megaman X and his talk with Alisi. That took a lot of work, I can tell you!

This chapter has action in it, but hardly any progress in say… the story itself. It's pretty long though, so if you review, could you drop a line on what it was about the chapter you liked specifically? I'd appreciate it.

* * *

Zero and Harpuia arrived down at the sewers. Harpuia's want to find Leviathan overcame his dislike for water. It really made no difference to Zero, who wasn't built anymore for water than he was on land. Harpuia hovered in the air and made a gracefully dive into the waters without making a single splash. Zero only jumped in from one of the machines along the wall. 

Leviathan still lay there as Megaman X had left her. Lying on her back with her staff in her hand. Harpuia slowly walked up to her, trembling slightly. His normally stony countenance seemed about to melt at the sight of Leviathan's battered body. Zero felt it was right to linger behind, that way his friend would feel more comfortable.

Harpuia knelt down slowly and beheld his dead friend. It was very odd as she looked so peaceful lying there, almost at ease as she was brought to her end. Harpuia felt himself beginning to lose control. Tears beginning to spill down his face- or rather they floated out of his eyes into the regular water as he picked Leviathan up in his arms. Breaking down completely, he drooped his head and began to sob out his grief and sorrow.

Zero's red eyes faded back to their normal black, and he felt his heart go out to his companion as he beheld the normally dignified and proud guardian now reduced to tears at the sight of his beloved friend lying dead in his arms. Harpuia never felt himself feel so miserable or lost in his life. But as the minutes passed, he began crying more with regret for wasting time and chances which were now gone.

"Why didn't I ever tell her!" he asked himself over and over again. He could never find himself an answer. "Why did this have to happen? If I loved her, then why didn't I ever act like it? Nothing like this had to happen. It's all because of that resistance and... that blue legend, Megaman X."

He stopped crying and sobbing. He lifted his head and you could see that his eyes were lit once again with the powerful want for revenge. He lay Leviathan back down and stood up.

Zero decided that now was the time to try and comfort his friend. He walked up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Harpuia." he said calmly. "But there's still a chance that she could be revived. "

Harpuia turned slowly, his face filled with calm hate ready to explode. He drew both sabers and stared intently into Zero's eyes. "Now Megaman will pay. This must not go unpunished. Please take her to the reviving processors, I have some things to do with Megaman X."

Zero's face suddenly looked reproachful at Harpuia's words. "Megaman X? But he..." then he stopped and wondered what it was that he was about to say.

Harpuia gave the order to transfer out and he disappeared. Zero shook his head regretfully, picked up Leviathan's body and gave the order for transfer as well.

* * *

Megaman X, Alisi and Cerveau all entered the Neo Arcadian base. They had arrived at the very first room. Ciel had managed to get them in just enough to allow them access without breaking in. 

Megaman looked around for security cameras. He spotted one just ahead of them beginning to turn. Without a word, he shoved Cerveau and Alisi out of the way and blasted the camera to bits with his X Buster.

"I think looking out for those is going to be our top priority" pointed out Cerveau.

Megaman nodded. "Yes. That will be tricky though."

He advanced forward down into the next room with Alisi and Cerveau following close behind. Alisi had tried out the Shield Boomerang and found it easy enough to use, since Cerveau had thoughtfully provided a handle, which made it much less difficult to handle. Cerveau had his tools and his lab coat full of all kinds of equipment so he could handle anything.

Megaman had entered countless bases before in the maverick wars, yet he still found it intimidating to enter an area like this. The new technology and security measures unnerved him. He didn't let the others know, of course. Megaman kept his eyes on the ceiling looking for cameras and forgot about the things in front of him. As he walked through the doorway to the second room, a guard with a red motion sensor found him and struck him with a stun blade.

He fell back shocked, but the blow was not very powerful. He straightened up and shot the drone to pieces. "This is not good!" he said. "This room will be full of guards in a minute!"

He was wrong. They were there already, and a lot of them! Spiders ran their ways up the walls and the ceilings. Drones with busters began firing large numbers of shots. Bees were hovering with their stingers ready to launch.

Megaman looked them over. "This is going to be tricky!" he said. He fired off a quick round of shots and managed to destroy a few drones, but only a few. Several shots hit him dead on and he stumbled back. Alisi immediately jumped in front of him whirling the Shield Boomerang. The shots were deflected and flew back towards the drones who fell back; being damaged by their own weapons.

Megaman got back up and charged his buster. "Thanks Alisi!" he yelled over the noise. Several bees shot forward intending to pin Megaman to the ground. Megaman fired his buster, but they neatly dodged the shots.

Cerveau suddenly spoke up. "Leave these guys to me Megaman!" he took some bombs out of his coat and hurled them forward. They exploded into huge clouds of smoke, completely disorienting the bees. Megaman switched to Flame Ball and fired upwards. The bees were disintegrated in mere seconds.

"Thanks Cerveau!" said Megaman gratefully. He was beginning to wonder how we would have managed without these two!

Alisi suddenly took a shot and she fell to one knee "Ah! Megaman ahead!" she yelled.

Megaman, enraged that one of the drones had hurt his friend, immediately leapt forward knocking a drone clean off his feet with one punch. Before they could fire back, he switched to Ice Mine. His body turned a bright sky blue and he fired a mine directly into their midst. The explosion caught most of the drones and froze them in ice cubes. After they exploded into fragments that is.

Alisi stood back up and kept spinning the Shield Boomerang. "We're winning Megaman!" she cried. Megaman felt the feeling of victory coming over him as he switched back to the X Buster and resumed blasting the drones. Cerveau suddenly yelled out loud in fright and surprise as a spider dropped on him and shot a web over him. Alisi turned and used the Shield Boomerang to cut him free.

Megaman felt a spider drop on him as well. He knocked it off and blasted it to bits. Then a whole swarm of them descended upon the group, shooting their webs faster than they could get rid of them. Megaman felt himself glued to the floor, and the spiders began pummeling him with their shots. Cerveau couldn't even move now, as he was practically in a whole net of the gooey white string. "Ugh!" he spluttered. "I've got some of this stuff in my mouth! Bleah!"

Alisi lost the Shield Boomerang and ended up grappling hand to hand with a spider. "Get off me!" she cried. Megaman sorted through his weapons, trying to find which one to use. "The Stun Blade!" he thought. "That should work!" he drew the Stun Blade and managed to cut himself free. Afterwards he jumped over to Alisi and grabbed the spider away from her.

He used his weapons download system and copied the spiders weapon. "I got the Web Trap weapon!" he thought excitedly. "Let's see how these spiders take their own venom!"

He ducked other spider and drone shots as he switched to Web Trap. He turned a bright gray and he shot out a flurry of web. The small spiders couldn't even lift a leg as the increased power of their weapon was used against them. Megaman continued blasting the rest of the drones in the room until it was empty.

Afterwards he used the flame ball and burned the webs holding Cerveau and Alisi. Cerveau was not a happy camper. "Ptoo! Bleeah! That stuff does not taste very good."

Alisi was just relieved that she did not have to grapple with a spider. "Ugh! Those things are so disgusting!" she said with a shudder.

Megaman began cleaning himself off. "Your thoughts and mine agree entirely." he muttered. Turning to Flame Ball, he began to burn the rest of the webs.

Cerveau took out a box and let out a cyber elf. He used it on everyone and they felt completely healed. Ciel called Megaman on his head mic. "Megaman! What's going on!" she yelled.

Megaman tuned his head mic down a bit. "We're alright Ciel. Just a little incident with the drones. We are not hurt too badly. I don't think I could have done it without Alisi and Cerveau's help though." He smiled at his companions who both grinned proudly.

"Ciel, where should we go from here?" asked Cerveau.

"The door ahead of you leads to a hallway with several paths." answered Ciel "There are probably security cameras in there. Megaman, have Cerveau try to tap into one of the cameras and short out their security systems. How's Alisi by the way?" Alisi answered. "I'm fine Miss Ciel. Despite the circumstances. I think I've got the hang of this Shield Boomerang."

Ciel chuckled lightly. "That's great. Megaman, I have a small hunch that they're already looking out for you on their surveillance. Try not to let yourself be seen. Try approaching one in a cautious manner alright?" Megaman nodded and switched to Web Trap. "I will. Say, do you know where Harpuia and Zero are?"

Ciel didn't speak for a moment, then said "I'm not entirely sure Megaman. I can't currently detect any large signals, but be careful just the same. I'll be standing by waiting for directions. Please keep a good watch on Cerveau Megaman. Alisi, please take good care of Megaman. Ciel out."

Alisi blushed slightly at what she heard. Cerveau on the other hand looked very indignant. "Keep a close watch on me? Why is that necessary? Probably doesn't trust me to keep my mouth shut." he grumbled.

Megaman walked over to the hallway and motioned his friends back. "Stay back." he warned "I'm going to need the least amount of people in the hallway as possible. I'm going to try and get one of the cameras."

Cerveau did not like the idea of staying behind with all the busted up pieces of drones lying about. "Why should I stay here?" he demanded.

Megaman turned and fired a teeny tiny amount of Web Trap across his lips and sealed them shut.

"Because I don't trust you to keep your mouth shut anymore than Ciel does." he whispered. "Now be quiet!"

* * *

Harpuia arrived back at the base. He made his way to the security room, flying through the enclosed hallways. He barged into security and grabbed the nearest guard. "Take me to surveillance quarters, now!" 

The guard nodded frightened, and led him into the room with the cameras. Looking at the different cameras, he talked to the men watching them.

"Has Megaman X made an attack yet?"

One of the guards pointed to Camera 1. "He did. He destroyed the camera in there so we can't see anything in there. But he didn't destroy anymore."

Harpuia looked at the 2. and 3. Cameras. "They sure toasted our drones." he remarked.

"Yeah, but I think we scared him off." said the guard. "There's no sign of him anywhere. Not even the hallways. He didn't even destroy all the drones, we keep getting signals from a few spiders."

Harpuia rubbed his chin in confusion. "He left? I didn't think he would leave..."

He left and entered the adjoining corridor. He almost ran into Zero on his way. Zero was returning from his delivery. He dodged and snatched Harpuia's arm. "Hey! Where are you going?" he asked.

Harpuia jerked his arm away. "Let go. Megaman X is back at the resistance base. I'm going there now to settle things with him."

Dr. Weil's voice suddenly sounded out of the intercom near them. "No Harpuia." he commanded. "You must stay here until I have given you orders to go."

Then something odd happened. Harpuia did not have a red glow in his eyes like Zero did, but something changed about him and he stood up firmly. "I will not stay." he stated firmly. "I am going to go and punish Megaman X for his actions. You will not stop me _Dr. _Weil."

Dr. Wiel was confused, but did not show it. His voice changed to a cool, menacing tone. "Oh really?" he taunted "And just who do you think you are? You remember that I am the ruler of Neo Arcadia, and you will obey me, or else."

Harpuia did not seem affected by Dr. Weil's threats. "You are right Dr. Weil." he answered coolly "I'll obey you, when I want to that is."

Zero grabbed Harpuia's arm again and his own eyes glowed red. "You will not disobey Lord Weil, Sage Harpuia. Disobey and I will-"

Harpuia sent a surprise kick to Zero's stomach, slamming him staggering against the wall. Harpuia started his jets and soared down the hallway.

Zero limped after him, gasping "You are being insubordinate.. pant pant."

Dr. Weil was beginning to panic. He had not expected this to happen. As realization dawned on him, he began to doubt the security of his control. It seemed that Harpuia's extreme want for revenge overruled Dr. Weil's own control, and would not make him do what he wanted. He would not let the same thing occur to Zero. He turned his com link to Zero's head mic. "Do not go after him Zero. I will deal with him myself."

Switching to Harpuia's head mic he said "Sage Harpuia. If you do not turn back, you will be banished from Neo Arcadia as a maverick, and I will send someone to liquidate you. You cannot disobey me like this."

Harpuia's voice growled menacingly over the microphone. "You do that, and I personally will make sure you miss the light of the next morning's sun rise."

Then the signal tuned out.

---

On the roof of the resistance base, Enzan stood leaning against a tower wall, directly in it's shadow. He was still contemplating the battle he had commanded in the vault. He felt extremely odd, wondering why- after all the years of waiting for a battle, he felt so repulsed at the memory of it all. It was not so fascinating as he had fantasized. It was grizzly and gruesome. He had seen reploids die and get sliced to pieces in front of him. It was not pleasant and he did not relish the thought of a future battle.

A younger girl reploid arrived on the roof and stood beside him. "Is something wrong Eugene?" she asked.

Enzan's shoulders rose and fell as he sighed in exasperation. "There is now, Selah. I think I've reminded you before? Not to call me by my real name?"

Selah shrugged and leaned against the tower beside him. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

Enzan shook his head dismissively. "Never mind." he muttered quietly. "You don't want to know anyway."

Suddenly, their vision was blocked completely by a blur of green. They both jumped and drew their blasters, aiming at the speeding object. It slowed and stood before them. "I am Sage Harpuia of the four guardians." The reploid announced. "I demand a meeting with Megaman X."

Enzan charged his blaster and kept it aimed at him. "Clear out of her, Falconoid." he commanded gruffly. "Megaman X is not here to meet with in any case."

Harpuia took a few steps forward. "I demand a meeting." he repeated. "I will not leave until I see him."

Selah- stupidly, jumped forward and fired her blaster at him. Harpuia merely flicked one of his sabers and deflected the shot back at her. It struck her blaster, destroying it. He then leapt forward and grabbed Selah by the back of her uniform. He held a saber at her neck and looked back at Enzan. "I wish to see him, now." he said threateningly.

Enzan ground his teeth together in anger. "You let her go now Sage Harpuia. Megaman X is- I will repeat, not here. He is..." He hesitated.

Harpuia cocked an eyebrow. "Yes?" he asked.

Enzan looked at Selah, then back at his gun. Sighing, he relented. "Megaman X is at Neo Arcadia making an assault."

Harpuia threw Selah back at Enzan and hovered upwards. "I will go back and recheck." he informed them. "If you are lying, rest assured that I will be back." and he transferred out.

Selah literally fell into Enzan's arms, causing them both to stumble against the tower. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she said flustered. Enzan didn't appear to care, and he helped her to her feet.

"We had better get back into the base. I must tell Miss Ciel about this. I'm afraid that I will be in big trouble..."

* * *

Megaman edged his way carefully into the doorway leading into the hallway. He tried his best to remain silent and not create any noise. Carefully, he lifted his X Buster up and looked into the reflection the metal barrel made. He could spot a camera turning from him to look the other way. Megaman tip-toed into the hallway and fired a steady stream of Web Trap at the camera so it couldn't rotate. He then walked up to it and slowly began to blur the camera with web. 

He motioned with his hand and Cerveau scuttled down the hallway with his tools. Silently directing, Megaman and Cerveau carefully removed a plating on the cameras arm. Cerveau then reached into the wirings with a tiny arm like tool and snagged a wire. Cautiously, he took it out and then quickly replaced it with another. After that he placed a large device inside.

Then he turned to Megaman and pointed to his mouth. Megaman smiled and removed the Web Trap sealing his lips shut. Cerveau smacked his lips a few times and said "Thanks a lot Spider Man. That cable will short out their cameras for a while. I need to place another device in another camera though."

Megaman found another camera and they performed the same operation on it as they did the other. After Cerveau placed the device, he explained its use.

"We should be able to move about freely for some time. The devices I planted will scramble the images the security team sees. They'll show us in areas completely different to what their own computers show them, and confusion will reign. Unfortunately I can't seal off the sounds we make. We have to be as quiet as a.. um-"

"Mouse?" suggested Alisi.

Cerveau shook his head "No. More like an engineer with his lips sealed shut." he nodded up and down. "Yeah, that sounds right. That'll be our plan."

Megaman held up his hands "Woah woah woah here." he said "I'm the one in charge. I'm the one who decides what our plan is."

Cerveau glared at him. But Megaman gave a reassuring smile "But your idea sounds O.K. Let's do it. Come on Alisi!"

They all slowly made their way to the security room with Ciel's guidance.


	17. Phase Three B

_**First off I feel I have to apologize to most of you who have been reviewing this story. I became lazy and didn't update for months. No, it had nothing to do with real life or anything like that, I just became lazy. I hope you guys can forgive me. Anyways, here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy.**_

**__**

* * *

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great chapter. Despite how tired i am, I read and can see you found my number 1 weakness lol. Spiders. I have so many words for them right now, but would rather not speak on them, but great chapter. :)

Update soon. When life slows down enough for me, I'll have something out. As a matter of fact, something should be out this weekend. Look for it. :)

Talk to you later and i received the files you sent for me. I have to recopy them. :) Thanks once again. :)

Alisi T.

**Me:** I had no idea you didn't like spiders. That was an interesting little coincidence! ;-) And thanks a lot.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I was at Bible school one week during November. I was staying at a families house and I woke up one morning. I opened my eyes and right in front of them was a spider crawling to the left and right smack-dab in front of my face. I didn't freak out, but I was sure scared. It was almost as big around as a quarter, had six brown legs and two flaming red legs in front. It was freaky, let me tell you. Thankfully, I don't scream or shout when I see something scary so I managed to calmly get out of bed, take a picture of the spider just in case and then smash it with a composition notebook.

So I have a few words for spiders myself. ;-)

- - - - -

**ZBoi:** aw nice lil fluff between Harpuia and Dead Levi... newaes pls update soon!

**Me:** Yeah, I know you guys like that. ;-)

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**BeastBoy66:** Well... (grins sheepishly) It seems I've missed alot. I thought this was a one-shot so I read it once and never came back to it. I just finished reading all the other chapters and i must say, this story is great! I espeacially liked that Bob part a few chapters back, it reminded me of my Johnson joke in my EXE. story. Update soon!

P.S. Story added to favorites.

**Me:** You have the same joke, huh? Another interesting coincidence. I'm glad you like it so much that you added it to your favorites! That's a big compliment. :-)

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**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** I'm really sorry it took me so long to review. My computer crashed again and we had to get a new one. At least I can read again. I thought this story was good when it came to their teamwork, and I just thought most of the rest was a bit funny, but I still hope you'll be updating soon so I can see a good battle between X and Harpuia!

**Me:** And I'm sorry this update is so late. You're battle with Harpuia is just a single chapter away from this one, so keep your eyes open. I will not- I repeat, will not leave you guys hanging again after so long.

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**sonic10235:** can u make the fight with harpuia both funny and action? dont matter really. just a suggestion.

**Me:** I'll answer that question as plainly as I can. No way. I can't fathom how Harpuia and X could have a fight with humor involved with circumstances like these. Thanks for the suggestion though.

- - - - -

**Laharl The Overlord:** Very interesting story you got here. Geeze and Harpuia needs to calm down a bit, think, and probably wait for Levi to be revived. On the other hand, it looks like X will be having a hard time soon. X3

**Me:** Well, if you're a moron like Harpuia who never takes the time to tell someone they love them and wish to marry them then I guess you would be kicking yourself as well as wanting revenge. And X will have a hard time, I can tell you that right out.

* * *

Harpuia transferred back into the base and made his way back to the security surveillance room. He looked the cameras over. "Megaman X is still here." he told the guard. "Have you picked him up on any of our cameras?"

The guard shook his head. "No sir. Everything is just the way you left it."

Harpuia slammed his fist down on the console "That soldier tricked me!" he growled angrily. Almost at the same time he hit the console, the cameras all shorted out.

The guard threw his hands up in frustration "Oh thanks a lot!" he cried in annoyance. "You just shorted out our cameras!" he took off his headset and got underneath the console. "Now I have to fix everything again." he grumbled.

Harpuia did not pay attention to the agravatted guard. He was busy pacing back and forth. Where on earth did that Megamurderer go? That soldier might have been telling the truth, but then again maybe he didn't! He wished he could figure out where he went. Now his burning desires for revenge had begun to die down, and he was beginning to think of other things. He probably should not have disobeyed Lord Weil after all. He could get in big trouble.

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by a sudden feeling of electro magnetic power engulfing him. He tried to retaliate against the force, but he was not strong enough. He was caught in some kind of net. He could move about freely though, and he was able to see who was shooting the powerful beam. It was Zero; and he had some kind of proud look on his face. "Hello Harpuia." he said smirking. "What do you think of the Anamole projector? I got you trapped like a fly."

Harpuia tried to whip out his sabers, but Zero jolted his arm that was holding the A.P. and Harpuia was juggled out of control, unable to reach his sabers. Zero switched on his head mic "Lord Weil! I have Sage Harpuia in my hands now. What shall I do with him?"

"Well done Zero. " Lord Weil cackled "...Bring him to me personally, I wish to deal with him."

Zero nodded and began retracting the A.P. bringing Harpuia closer. "It shall be done Lord Weil." he confirmed. Harpuia sagged and let himself be dragged towards Zero.

"Too bad you disobeyed Weil, Harpuia." remarked Zero "Trust me, I did not want to do this, but then I would have to be dealt with by him like you are goi- AAAaah!!"

Zero recieved a painful kick in the chest! The force was so strong that he flew back ten feet, dropping the A.P. Harpuia was free now, and he ran down the security hallways with Zero close behind him.

* * *

"Go right here." directed Ciel as Megaman X and Cerveau and Alisi all made their way down the corridors. For a few minutes, they had been running as fast as possible; in order to gain the most ground before the cameras reactivated again. Cerveau wasn't a very good runner, and with all his tools, he wasn't able to keep up very well. "Puff puff.. can't we go any slower?!" he gasped.

Alisi helped him along "Keep going! Once the cameras all come back on, we'll be forced slow down. How much longer till they do?"

Cerveau looked at his watch "About 35 seconds." he read aloud.

Alisi nodded and kept on running "Good. We should be there before too many cameras are left." Megaman kept speaking to Ciel through his head mic. "How long down this corridor?" he asked.

"Turn left and go through a door once you go past three other doors on your right." Ciel answered "It should be all alone, but be careful. There are bound to be security guards around." Cerveau held onto Alisi's arm in order to keep up. "I have to stop.." he panted. "We only have twenty seconds left."

Megaman instantly solved the problem. He grabbed Alisi's arm with his left hand and Cerveau's arm in his right. Then he dashed, dragging Alisi and Cerveau with him! They were both too suprised to say anything as Megaman's dash jets carried them forward faster than they could run. They found the door on their left and stopped there, breathing heavily. Alisi leaned against the door post and sighed "Wow! That was fast, how did you make yourself go so fast while you were pulling us Megaman?"

Megaman shrugged "The power from the cyber-elf Cerveau gave me provided me with extra strength. I used it for my dash jets."

Cerveau- who was sitting down and recovering his breath, gave a slightly resentful wheeze. "I shouldn't have given it to you." he said. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sure I did." Megaman laughed "But I suppose it takes a lot to get you down."

Cerveau, not one to be put down for his pride, stood up and tried to recover his composure "Yes well, it was a little faster than I'm used to."

Alisi laughed. "Oh give me a break. Say Megaman, if this is where we're supposed... Megaman?"

Megaman wasn't listening. He looked around the room listening attentively. He appeared uneasy, and you could tell he knew something was not right. "I can hear someone in the room above us." he finally said. "...Yes, I think Zero and Harpuia are having a fight!"

Cerveau opened the door and motioned towards it. "Come on! We don't have the time to waste listening to them! Let's go!" Megaman switched his arm to a buster and charged it. "I'm going to break a hole in the cieling and get Zero." he said determindley. "I don't want Zero to destroy Harpuia anymore than I want Zero getting hurt."

Alisi laid a hand on his arm and pulled his buster down. "Don't Megaman." she said "We have to get these tapes so we can save him. If he's occupied up there, then we won't have to worry about having to fight them before we leave."

"Alright. Let's go get- uh oh!" Megaman cried. He suddenly jerked his buster up and fired the shot. Something near the cieling exploded and it's burnt remains fell to the floor.

"A security camera." he explained to the bewildered Alisi and Cerveau. "I think it saw us. We should move quickly before we're- oops."

A guard had appeared in the doorway and was reporting them on a walkie talkie.

"Seen."

* * *

Harpuia soared up at the cieling and hovered there as Zero caught up to him. The room they were in was not very large, but it was big enough for Harpuia's flying tactics. Zero glared up at him and took out the Recoil Rod. "I'll get you Harpuia." he yelled from the floor. Harpuia smirked and dove downwards, letting fly an energy beam slash. Zero released the recoil rod downward and shot sky high into the air. Harpuia angled upwards, only to find Zero's Chain Rod around his waist.

"Got you!" Zero cried in triumph. Harpuia fell to the floor and lashed out with both sabers; cutting the Chain Rod off of him. "Not so." he said calmly. He jumped forward and struck Zero's head with a downward slash. Zero stumbled back, but did not fall. Instead, he whipped out the Zero Buster and shot a quick shot into Harpuia's stomach.

"Ooh- I'm hurt!" Harpuia moaned in a fake whiny voice. "Try harder Zero. Hiyahh!!"

He suddenly dashed forward and picked up Zero and carried him upwards. Zero felt his head hit the cieling and break through. Harpuia had not expected this, and when he intended to smash him into the floor, he merely felt himself diving with empty hands. Zero took out his Z-Saber and cut himself free, falling down onto Harpuia.

They both disregarded weapons for a time and merely grappled with eachother, rolling about the floor; kicking, and punching, and twisting an arm, or whatever they could possibly do to cause his opponent harm. Zero had a slight advantage over Harpuia, as he was more accustomed to attacking at ground level than the winged, arial fighter. Harpuia was not going down easily though, and he managed to give back as good as he recieved.

"This only makes your record more black Harpuia!" shouted Zero, bashing Harpuia's shoulder.

Harpuia snarled. "That won't make me stop anymore than you are trying to do now!" he yelled back. Neither of them would let the other think he was winning, and so fought all the more savagely as they could. For almost half an hour they fought, trying to cause some fatal injury to eachother. The fighting was growing long however, and Harpuia found himself losing. "If I don't do something quick," he thought "I will lose, and I ugh- Cannot lose!"

Harpuia was held down on the floor now, and Zero had both hands on Harpuia's throat. Harpuia tried prying his hands loose without sucess. "Gaak!" choked Harpuia. He didn't need air, it was his electrical transmission that was being blocked, and he would eventually pass out.

Zero smiled and his eyes once again shown with that bright reddish glow. "Should have listened to me before!" he jeered.

Zero made one mistake though, trying to hold him down with both hands. Harpuia suddenly let go of Zero's wrists and his hands flew to his waist. Jerking the Chain Rod free, he suddenly looped it over Zero's neck and tightened it. Zero suddenly found **himself** at the mercy of his what used to be captive. Harpuia tightened as hard as he could and Zero was struggling to free himself.

"Why you... blag, little- cough cough grr-" Zero gasped.

Harpuia finally got out from underneath Zero and sent a kick flying into Zero's midribs. Zero, now winded and choked, felt himself passing out as he fell to the floor. He did not however, as he managed to release the Chain Rod from his neck which Harpuia had let go of. He drew the Z-Saber and stood up shakily. "I.. will.. not lose to you green guy!" he menaced. Harpuia just brushed himself off, apparently very pleased with himself.

"Don't ever try that again." he warned. He took something out of his pocket. It was a full restoration cyber-elf. He absorded it and his whole body was healed. "I'm going to go find Megaman."

Something echoed in his head mic. "Master Harpuia!" it was the guard from security. "Yes?" answered Harpuia

"I've just picked Megaman X up on one of my monitors!" replied the guard. "He's near the recreation room- wait a minute, I've just been told that he showed up in main corridor 9! He's moved from one side of the base to the other as easy as pie!"

Harpuia's face squinted in confusion "What? Where exactly is he? Never mind, I'm coming to security right now."

* * *

Megaman leapt forward and kicked the guard flying. Too late, the walk-talkie had signalled. "No!" Megaman yelled and he fired an Ice Mine right at the gaurd, obliterating him completely.

"Oh great!" said Cerveau "They're gonna find us for sure now. We don't stand a chance."

Megaman almost used the Web Trap on him again. "Shut up!" he shouted. "Try to make some weapon for yourself. Alisi! Follow me and keep that Shield Boomerang spinning."

The trio ran into the next room. They found two more doors and and neither said which led to where.

"Where should we go Ciel?" asked Megaman.

"Take the right one!" answered Ciel. Megaman and Alisi all took the right door.

"Wait a minute!" said Cerveau. He took out the last of his bombs and threw them all at the left door. They all exploded, leaving the door with a huge hold in it. "That way they'll think we took that door!" he explained.

Megaman smiled and led the way down the corridor. "You are a genius Cerveau!" he complimented.

"You should be almost there!" said Ciel. "There's a large room ahead of you, and there's probably a lot of drones there. Be careful!"

After about three minutes they found a door. Megaman immediately dashed inside. "Watch out Megaman!" cried Alisi as she jumped beside him. A small barrage of shots rebounded off of the Shield Boomerang and destroyed a whole group of ambush drones.

Megaman sighed in relief. "Thanks a ton Alisi!"

Alisi did not turn, but kept whirling the Boomerang. "That's why I came Megaman!" she shouted.

Megaman turned and fired another charged shot into his enemies. The group of drones managed to jumped apart without losing too many of themselves. He switched to Flame Ball and fired into the air. A large cloud of smoke filled the cieling and blocked anyone's view from above. Any Bee Drones scattered and hit the walls.

Cerveau finally entered the fight and held up a small device. Whriling it like a sling, he hurled it into the middle of several large, Blue fist drones. The device latched onto one of them and began whirling around, letting out a steel string. It wrapped itself around the whole group and tied them together. Then electricity surged through the string and electrocuted them. Alisi deflected some more shots, which flew into the Blue fist drones; destroying them all.

Megaman shot down a few more drones, and then he jumped up and into the air. He disappeared into the cloud of smoke, and then reappeared behind the ranks of Stun Blad drones. Shooting some Web Trap, he akwardly tied them all up in a large sticky heap and then fired an Ice Mine into them. The explosion was spectacular and the drones began running about in a panic, shooting whatever they saw. Including themselves.

Cerveau had been hiding behind Alisi while Megaman was performing his suprise attack and had been putting something else together. Alisi ground her teeth as a drone stuck a Stun Blad right in the middle of the Shield Boomerang. It was instantly destroyed and the fragments hit the drone and Alisi. "Ow!" she cried as a piece hit her on the nose. "Cerveau hurry up!"

Cerveau finally tossed the thing he was working with in front of them. A large force field suddenly appeared and it blocked any shots that were fired. "Come on!" he said hurriedly "We need to see if Megaman needs any help!" Alisi and Cerveau ran over to where the explosion had occured and looked around. But Megaman was not there, he was performing sweep kicks in order to knock down some Blue fist drones.

"Megaman! Where are you?" Alisi yelled worriedly. Unofrtunately it was her and Cerveau who needed worrying right then. Just as Megaman had finished off his drones, a suddenly very large prototype robot appeared right behind them, crushing Cerveau's force field generator with his foot. He was about twelve feet tall and had two large guns on his shoulders. He was painted in just plain gray and didn't look too dangerous. But that of course would be wrong to assume when he disarmed Alisi of the Shield Boomerang.

Alisi stood completely helpless without her Boomerang. Speaking of which, the Boomerang had flown from her hands and was cartwheeling around the room, destroying the last few drones there, and- I'm sorry to say, slashed Megaman's arm down to the titanium bone. "AAAAUGH!!!" he screamed. Electricity as well as combustion fluids poured from his wound.

Stupidly, Cerveau jumped in front of Alisi with a bomb in his hand. He threw it at the robot, who knocked it away with his hand. It landed right between the two and Alisi was sent flying into a pile of wreckage. Cerveau hit the wall and lay there completely knocked out. Alisi tried to get up, but she touched some of Megaman's Web Trap in the wreckage and was stuck. The robot stood lowering one of his guns to aim at her.

She backed down, holding up her arms defensively. "MEGAMAN!!" She screamed in fright.

Megaman looked up from his arm and spotted the prototype. "No!" Rage filled his body and he ran past the prototype, knocking it down with strength born of desperation. The gun went off when the prototype hit the ground and shot towards Alisi. Megaman was still running however, and grabbed Alisi, catching her out of harm's way just in time.

**BOOM- POW!!! **

The blast left a huge whole in the area where Alisi would have been. Megaman could see down the hole, and realized that it had just blasted through the floor and walls of **five levels**! Even Megaman X wouldn't have survived long after a shot like that! Alisi gasped at the sight and realized what had just nearly happened to her.

Megaman set her down behind a large pile of wreckage. "Stay here." he ordered. When he turned to the prototype, he was already standing. Megaman jumped and performed an air dash. Switching to Stun Blade, he immediately slashed the barrel of one of the guns.

The prototype waved his hands around and caught Megaman. He tried crushing him with his hands. Megaman tried hacking the hand off with the Stun Blade, but it was too strong. He switched to Ice Mine and fired it right into the prototype's head, but it did nothing!

"Flame Ball!!" yelled Megaman as he realized the only possible weakness left. He fired a barrage at the prototype. The prototype staggered back, dropping Megaman. Megaman kept firing a steady round of Flame Balls, and the prototype was finished.

Megaman dove back to Alisi and used his body as a shield to protect her from the huge eplosion. Chunks of metal were flying everywhere, and struck Megaman hard on the head. Megaman winced, but did not fall as the explosion slowly died down.

Once it did, he turned his head and saw a huge energy unit where the prototype once was. He slowly walked over to it and absorbed it. Aaah... it felt good. His arm was healed and most of his damage was gone.

He was wondering what had happened to Cerveau. "This is completely ridiculous!"

Megaman looked over to a pile of wreckage on the wall. It shook and burst apart, revealing the battered and bruised Cerveau. He grumbled "I suppose you would leave me here during a huge explosion, wouldn't you Megaman?"

Alisi got up from where Megaman had left her and joined him as they relieved the dusty engineer. They dragged Cerveau out of the wreckage and dusted him off. "I'm sure your fine Cerveau." said Megaman.

Cerveau rubbed his arm painfully "Yeah well, at least you eliminated that prototype. I'm fine, you don't need to beat me like a rug you know."

Ciel's voice came over the head mic. "How's it going Megaman? Are you alright?" she asked.

"We're all O.K." answered Megaman. "Everyone is bruised, but not shaken."

A small knocking sound came from Alisi, who was in fact, shaking from head to toe; knees knocking together. Megaman sighed and added "Except for Alisi. She's O.K. though. Finding the tapes will be easy from now on."

Cerveau leaned into Megaman's head mic. "By the way, I need a new lab coat when I get back Ciel. This one is ruined."

Ciel sighed exhasperatedly. "That's the least of our worries right now Cerveau. Megaman, please be as careful as possible. Try to find as many tapes as possible from Dr. Weil's room. Leave nothing to be desired in the way of thoroughness."

"We'll do that Ciel. Megaman out." he switched it off and turned to Cerveau. "I hope your equipment is still intact. I need to use your scanning and hacking techniques to tap into their computers. Can you do that?"

Cerveau grinned. "Asking if I can is a waste of time. I have special casings for my equipment to protect it. They're all in perfect shape."

Megaman nodded and turned to Alisi. She had been pretty silent since the prototype's attack and was standing with her hands clasped together and staring down at the floor. "Are you alright Alisi? You're not shaking anymore."

Alisi nodded and Megaman could notice she had tears streaming down her face. "I- I'm ok... just scared. I was almost killed."

"Hey now... calm down... you're alright!" said Megaman patting her head. "Don't cry."

Alisi grabbed Megaman's hand and held it in hers. She looked at him and spoke with complete gratification in her voice. "Megaman... I don't know what to say, I... owe you my life." she whispered. "Thank you so much."

Megaman felt his face begin to- once again, blush deeply. He pulled her into a hug and smiled at Cerveau, who was at first smiling at Alisi's words, but now looked disgusted at Megaman's little hug. Alisi sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.

Cerveau didn't admit it openly, but what he saw was kind of sweet. After all, he never did get to see anything like this before! Alisi pulled away and her eyes sparkled up at him. "You're so sweet Megaman."

"As we all know." Cerveau cut in. "He's about as sweet as they come. Now let's hurry up and find those tapes!"

Finding the tapes was easy. The guards were easy to eleminate and Cerveau used a scanning device to locate the what they needed. Once they gathered the tapes, Megaman called Ciel and said "I want you to prepare a transfer for him and Alisi. Along with the tapes we found."

"Alright!" replied Ciel. "But what about you?"

Megaman sighed and said firmly "I'm going to stay and try to find Zero. I must bring him back with me. I won't make another mistake and leave him here."

Cerveau and Alisi both prepared to transfer. Alisi almost cried all over again as she said "Please come back Megaman. I don't want to lose..." her voice was lost as the transfer commenced. Megaman waved to them both as they vanished.

"Lose what?" X muttered. "Don't worry, dear Alisi. I'll come back."

He then turned and dashed down the corridor till he came to the doorway below the room in which he had heard Zero and Harpuia fighting. He aimed upwards and fired a charged shot through the ceiling. Using the air dash, he grabbed onto the rims of the hole and pulled himself up and in. Looking around, he didn't see anybody. He didn't even see marks of a battle. "Maybe I was wrong.." he thought.

He was sort of wrong, but not completely. There was a sudden transfer and before him stood a tall green reploid with two sabers at the ready.

Hello Megaman X." said Harpuia.


	18. Phase Three C

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great chapter 17. :)

I forgot that you put me in this story. It's been so long, but this chapter was great. Especially when Megaman saved me. :) Good job. :)

Alisi T. :)

**Me:** I thought you might like that. ;-) I hope you like this chapter.

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**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** I THOUGHT YOU DIED! Oh well at least now I have one more story to look forward to again. Just be sure not to slack off too much!;) And I'm still looking forward to a battle between X and Harpuia! ...Lightning Edgeman... signing off!

**Me:** I won't slack off like that again. Although I did nearly die in the past week. I'm kidding of course, but I did have a raging fever for two and a half days. I would have updated sooner if it hadn't been for that. However I don't think it will happen again. :-)

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**ZBoi:** well hot took ya long enough :) my internets having problem somehow and i receive my story alerts bout 4 daes late... but newae i still receive it ;)  
methinks mega x alisi hahahahaha kinda obvious  
YAY boss fight XD if harpy can be counted as a boss... i guess he still is wahahahas  
uppdate s00n!

**Me:** I know it took long. But please, no swearing. And there wasn't anything wrong with your computer, actually. Something was wrong with the site again.

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**supercookies567:** Hey you updated and i thought you gave up on this story well very interesting how the storys makin out

**Me:** I don't give up on a story I post. I only post chapters from stories I've completed. I hope you like this chapter, thought it is rather short.

* * *

Megaman set his jaw grimly and charged both of his busters. "Sage Harpuia, I presume?"

Harpuia nodded and his jets activated. "Yes I am." he replied. "One of the now only two guardians of Lord Weil. I have come to settle a score with you." He began to slowly rise into the air. Megaman felt slightly intimidated and he began to circle Harpuia, keeping his busters trained on him.

"What score do we have to settle?" he asked.

"It's more of a punishment actually." answered Harpuia. "You have no idea how confusing that security system was. They said you were in three different places at once because you showed up on three different monitors and two people called saying you were elsewhere."

Megaman grinned slightly. "That was thanks to my friend, Cerveau. He's a genius at those things. Where is Zero?"

Harpuia shrugged. "I do not know. Probably trying to find you along with the rest of security. Why?"

Megaman walked along the wall and stopped. He stood ready to launch his busters if anything happened. "I must find him and bring him back to the resistance." he replied "Why are you even serving Dr. Weil Harpuia? He's betrayed you like so many others; Including my Copy! Why are you serving him?"

Harpuia jerked once again, as did all the guardians did whenever something like that was said. Harpuia steadied himself however, and spoke. Ignoring Megaman's inquiry. "You killed the third guardian. Leviathan of water and ice."

Megaman nodded "I remember. What about it?"

Harpuia began circling Megaman in the same manner as earlier. "I don't suppose you know as much as I thought. Did you know for instance... that I loved her?"

Megaman blinked in suprise "Did I know that you what?" he echoed in confusion. "From what I know, you never said anything remotely like that!" Harpuia's eyes darkened and he ground his teeth together. He raised both sabers above his head and crossed them together. A ball of power began crackling between that.

"I will get my revenge." menaced Harpuia, ignoring Megaman's comment again. "You will pay Megaman X. Take this!!!"

Harpuia suddenly shot like a bullet into the air and then down again. Heading directly for Megaman with the ball of energy growing larger and larger. Megaman dashed out of the way just in time. He turned and saw Harpuia hurling the energy ball at him. Megaman had no time to dodge, and he was enveloped in electricity.

"Yaaaaaaah!!!" he screamed. For several seconds he was paralyzed and then he fell to the floor, shaking horribly from his "shocking" experience. Harpuia laughed and sped forward intending to cut Megaman in two with one slash. Megaman saw him however, and his body flashed to yellow. He jumped to his feet and blocked the blow with his Stun Blade. They stood for a while, hoping that the other would give up and relent, but neither did so. After several seconds, they both jumped away from eachother with their blades held in a defensive stance.

Megaman decided it was his move. Switching back to Plasma, he fired a shot straight at Harpuia. Harpuia easily dodged it and performed a head long dive for Megaman. Megaman jumped high and fired his shot downward. Harpuia's dive was messed up as his dive went a bit lower than he had expected and he crashed headlong into the floor. Megaman landed and ran over to him. "Don't keep going like this Harpuia. I don't want to kill you."

Harpuia struggled to his feet and knocked him away with a punch. "Save your mercy for someone who needs it." he shouted angrily. Megaman quickly regained his balance and switched his power to Flame Ball. His whole body flashed red.

Harpuia gave a little knowing smile. "Pitiful. Especially for you Megaman. Go ahead! Take your best shot!" Harpuia stood with his arms spread out, giving Megaman a broad target.

Megaman was confused, but he was not one to miss a good shot. He fired a round of Flame Balls and they all hit home. Harpuia was not too worried though, as his body absorbed every single one! He laughed as if he enjoyed it. No damage at all! Megaman stood with his mouth hanging open. No reploid could stand an attack like that! Harpuia took advantage of Megaman's temporary dumbfoundment and sent two saber slashes hurling forward. Megaman was caught completely off guard, and they both struck him through.

Megaman cried out and collapsed. He ground his teeth together as he felt his right buster short out. "Aaah! My buster is dead!" he stood up and glared at Harpuia, who was hovering above him with both sabers ready to strike. "You are mine Megaman." he said with his smile replaced with an evil snarl. Megaman thought quickly. He had to think of something quick! Fire did not work, so... then he smiled.

"Leviathan gave me this for a purpose Harpuia." said Megaman. His body flashed into a light periwinkle blue.

Harpuia's eyebrows raised in the air. "So. You got her weapon did you? Never mind. This next blow is for Leviathan. Die Megaman!" Harpuia struck downwards.

But not fast enough. Megaman raised his buster and fired an Ice Mine. It came in instant contact with his sabers and exploded. Harpuia was sent hurtling through the air and Megaman felt himself slammed against the wall so hard that his helmet broke off.

Harpuia hit the ceiling and then crashed to the floor, breathing heavily. Megaman rubbed his head painfully and picked up his helmet. It would have to have some serious repairs done to be of any use. He hoped that Ciel and the rest would not get too worried. He lifted himself to his feet and smiled at Harpuia. "That was a mistake Harpuia." he said with a smirk. Harpuia lifted his head from the floor and glared at him. "How dare you..." he growled.

Megaman almost fired another Ice Mine, but he stopped. He remembered the promise he had made Leviathan. Walking over to Harpuia, he knelt beside him and said "Harpuia? I made a promise to Leviathan before she died." Harpuia tried to lift a saber, but Megaman knocked it out of his hands. "She knew she was dying, and she knew something else. She knew that you and I would probably end up fighting. She asked me to be easy on you-"

Harpuia rolled suddenly and raised himself to his knees. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were full of hate. "Don't lie to me X." he hissed "I won't allow you to insult me!" Megaman backed away and held up his hands. "Let me finish." he insisted. "She asked me to be easy on you because she-"

"She only did that to degrade me!" screamed Harpuia. Megaman was completely baffled. Now Harpuia was talking nonsense. He was so frustrated with his losing that he was making totally ridiculous comments. Megaman suddenly looked behind him and saw the saber Harpuia had dropped. He picked it up and held it in front of him. "Before we continue, let me finish!" he cried "Leviathan told me that, because she loved you! She knew I would win and she asked me not to kill you! I can you know... she gave me her weapon."

Harpuia was stunned. He let his arm drop to his side. His face seemed to tremble and tears began to creep into his eyes. His mind was a whirl with the belief that- even though he had never asked her himself, she really did love him and cared about him, even while she was dying. He closed his eyes and hung his head. Tears were beginning to stream from his eyes and his last saber dropped to the floor.

"It's true Harpuia." X said calmly. "Something was controlling her and she realized what I was trying to do."

Harpuia gave a dry meaningless laugh. "Nonsense. Leviathan is in perfect control of herself."

Megaman shook his head. "Nope. She was in no more control of herself then than you are now. Only it seemed with Fefnir and her that the control was lost through damage. I want you to be free Harpuia, but I don't want you to be damaged to the extreme."

Harpuia refused to listen again. "I have had enough talk. I will end this here and now!" As you may have expected, Harpuia ran forward slashing with his saber. But as you may not have expected, Megaman dashed first. He actually let himself drop to the ground and laid a neat kick in Harpuia's stomach. Harpuia almost fell on him, but sort of fell over him and Megaman quickly touched his hand to Harpuia's chest.

Weapon download caught the Lightning Strike! Megaman decided having an extra weapon would prove useful later. Megaman quickly scrambled out from underneath him and stood in a defensive stance. Harpuia whirled back up and stared angrily at him. This was one too many angry glares, stares, or anything else that involved eye contact for Megaman. His body flashed to an emerald green color. He clapped his hands together and spread them out wide in a power wave swing. Lighting crackled all around Harpuia and he barely manged to dodge.

Then Harpuia saw his chance. While Megaman was distracted with the lightning, Harpuia sent a flying saber slash towards him. Megaman felt the saber knocked clean from his hands and rebound off the wall into Harpuia's hand. Harpuia grinned at him. "I have you now Megajerk!" He dashed forward and landed a cross slash downward. Megaman felt both arms slightly glanced by the blades. He gasped and fell to his knees. He switched back to Stun Blade and held it up blocking the sabers.

Harpuia had the upper hand though, and gravity was on his side. Megaman could see this, and he decided to try the Ice Mine again. Switching to Ice Mine, he quickly ducked as his Stun Blade disappeared making the sabers just nearly hitting him. Harpuia stomped his foot hard. How could Megaman dodge so many attacks!

"I'll destroy you once and for all!" he yelled. Megaman decided that he didn't want that to happen, so he fired an Ice Mine. Harpuia was once again hit and was smashed into the wall. His head broke through the wall leaving him stuck fast. Megaman tried at once to call Alisi and Ciel to have a transfer commenced to capture him, but remembered that his helmet was destroyed. He would have to risk a teleportation with Harpuia.

Harpuia used his sabers and broke himself free. He could barely stand now, the Ice Mine had done it's work. Megaman walked cautiously up to him with his Stun Blade activated. "I'm taking you with me back to the Resistance Base Sage Harpuia." he said. Harpuia's hands shook as he shakily gripped his sabers. "I will not... let you.. take me."

Megaman- not wanting another fight, stomped down on his hands and ground down hard. Harpuia gasped out in pain as his sabers were crushed from his hands. Megaman picked him up and slung an arm on his shoulder. "This is for the best Harpuia. Believe me."

* * *

Back at the base, Enzan was making his report to Ciel. Ciel could not believe her ears. With Megaman already at Neo Arcadia, Harpuia knowing he was there would endanger the mission! Alisi and Cerveau had already returned with the tapes and Ciel was having them analyzed. "Why didn't you come sooner Enzan?" she demanded. Enzan shrugged "I'm sorry Miss Ciel. I was delayed by other soldiers, but I ran as fast as I could."

Ciel layed her face in her hands and groaned. She called Alisi on her intercom and turned back to Enzan. "Is Selah alright?"

"Yes Miss Ciel. She was not harmed." replied Enzan. Ciel nodded. "Good. Go about your duties then."

Alisi walked through Ciel's doorway and noticed her worried expression. "What's wrong Miss Ciel?" she asked. Ciel looked up at her and put a pleading look on. "Please try to remain calm when I tell you this Alisi Thorn. Harpuia is about to find Megaman. Enzan came here saying he had been delayed by other soldiers and was about an hour late in reporting this."

Alisi gasped. She staggered back against the wall "Oh no..." she squeaked out. "Does Megaman know yet?"

Ciel shook her head. "No. I want you to contact him right away." Alisi nodded and rushed from the room. Coming back however, she looked completely terrified. "Miss Ciel! This signal is completely gone! Megaman's head mic has been destroyed!"

Ciel jumped to her feet and grabbed her by the shoulders "What do you mean! It can't be, he must have already..."

* * *

Harpuia managed to jerk himself off of Megaman. "Don't do this to me Megaman X." he rasped out. Megaman could see that his opponent was badly damaged and didn't have much strength left. He grabbed him and laid his arm across his shoulder again. "I'm not going to harm you Harpuia." he told him. Harpuia feigned going limp.

"At least," he whispered. "Let me retrieve my sabers." Megaman nodded and knelt down.

Harpuia then jumped up and over Megaman. He snatched his sabers up and spun around. Megaman was already there though, and punched him right in the jaw. Harpuia collapsed and dropped his weapons. Megaman then picked up both weapons and wrapped both of his hands behind his back and tied them with Web Trap.

"I would have thought you a little more trustworthy than Leviathan, Harpuia." commented Megaman. Harpuia offered no more resistance and Megaman was finally able to teleport out. It was fortunate too, for the instant they did Zero entered the room. He began searching through the wreckage and battered walls of the room in which the battle ensewed. "Harpuia! Where are you?" he called.

Receiving no answer, he almost left. But as he did, his foot hit something. Looking down, he picked up a piece of rounded metal. Painted blue.

"Oh no."

He realized with fascination and horror. "Megaman has captured Sage Harpuia!"


	19. Slavery Flees Death

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Alisi Thorndyke: Hey Matt. :) Great job with this chapter as well. :) You did a good job and yet again, you wrote it to where I rock in this story once again. :) Thanks :)

Alisi T. :)

Hey Matt. :) Great job with this chapter as well. :) You did a good job and yet again, you wrote it to where I rock in this story once again. :) Thanks :)Alisi T. :)****

Me: First of all, the only one who rocks around here is myself. :-P

;-) Glad you like it.

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supercookies567: It seems the site always has some problem i recived three alerts of your story repeatly iono y. But YAY boss fight too bad its a bit short but great anyways :D

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Me: Glad you like it. Hopefully you got your notification this time.

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ZBoi: AW HATE FIGHT! hahas X is always so cheapo downloading other plps weapons hahahas  
Nice job on this chapter.. though like you said it was a lil short  
PLS MAKE ZERO RETURN TO NORMAL! and some ciel x zero chuu haha oh and own weil's butt too XS  
hope ya update s00n!

AW HATE FIGHT! hahas X is always so cheapo downloading other plps weapons hahahasNice job on this chapter.. though like you said it was a lil shortPLS MAKE ZERO RETURN TO NORMAL! and some ciel x zero chuu haha oh and own weil's butt too XShope ya update s00n!****

Me: X is so cheapo? That is what X does here, man!

This one is short, but it's a little complicated so you should take your time reading it. It will last longer that way. ;-)

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Lightning Edgeman ZERO: Not Bad, Not Bad... Harpuia is my 3rd favorite dude in the ENTIRE Megaman series! So I always like to see him in a fight. But there aren't many fics with Harpuia battling X. Anyways I appologize for not being able to review sooner... I... Kinda had lost my computer privelages and had to get caught up on all the stories I have in my favorites. But never-the-less continue on and good luck. Now it's on to the next one...(1 down, at least 10 more to go...)XD

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Me: I know, this site is terrible about those things. Still, it is great that it is free and it has good story R&R features. I suppose they already do more than is deserved since we don't exactly fill their pockets with our little whims and ideas we like to put into fanfic format. Enjoy!

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Fehize: Now, I am an IMMENSE fan of ZeroxCiel aand X, as well as Harpuia (even thoyugh I always thought that Harpuia and Levi were brothers and sister as they were all made from the same DNA, but Im ok with LevixHarpuia stories.)  
PLEASE, oh PLEASE, make Harpuia join the Resistance and live -pouty eye look- PWETTY PWEASE? -hold up a Zero plushie- For the Zero Chibi? AND I HAVE TO HAVE A CIEL 'n ZERO KISS! -fangirl scream-

Yah, -adds to fav and alert- See, you better Update now! lol

Now, I am an IMMENSE fan of ZeroxCiel aand X, as well as Harpuia (even thoyugh I always thought that Harpuia and Levi were brothers and sister as they were all made from the same DNA, but Im ok with LevixHarpuia stories.)PLEASE, oh PLEASE, make Harpuia join the Resistance and live -pouty eye look- PWETTY PWEASE? -hold up a Zero plushie- For the Zero Chibi? AND I HAVE TO HAVE A CIEL 'n ZERO KISS! -fangirl scream-Yah, -adds to fav and alert- See, you better Update now! lol****

Me: Okay, for the plush Zero chibi, I will.

Ha ha ha!! Look, I've already done plenty in that regard. Remember that this story was written long ago, so even with a plush Zero chibi, there are some things I will not change. So if you do continue to read, please don't make any more requests.

* * *

Megaman and Harpuia both arrived in Zero's room. Harpuia- now completely incapable of doing anything, was almost frantic now. "Do.. not put a.. controller on me.." he pleaded.

Megaman helped him into the energy capsule and closed it. "You don't need to worry about that Harpuia." he assured him. Harpuia didn't looked like he believed him, but he lay down and went to sleep.

Megaman began to feel his own damage as well. He suddenly stumbled, but he caught hold of the energy capsule handle and held himself up. "Boy, I'm more damaged myself!" he realized. Limping again out of his room, he entered the lab. Ciel wasn't there, but Alisi and Cerveau were. Alisi was crying her heart out on Cereau's shoulder and Cerveau looked perfectly miserable himself.

Seeing X he brightened and said. "Nice of you to show up. Get this fountain of tears off me or she'll ruin the chemical resistance in my coat."

X nodded and slowly slipped in where Cerveau was sitting and Cerveau slid out. He quickly left, rubbing his shirt furiously. "Man I'm gonna have those stains for weeks." he mumbled.

X smiled at Alisi and patted her head. "Come on.." he whispered, trying to keep his voice hidden. "Don't cry."

Alisi sniffed and cried out "Why not? Megaman is probably out there being destroyed by Harpuia- gulp sniff what am I going to do? What _can_ I do?" she sobbed.

X was surprised that she didn't know it was him. He pushed her head off his shoulder and aimed her gaze up at his face. "You could stop crying Alisi." he said softly.

Alisi gasped and her hands flew to her face. She tried to say "Megaman! You're alive!" but she could only manage was a surpised wheeze.

Megaman held out his hands as if he were expecting a hug. "Well?" he asked with a big smile on his face.

Alisi nearly lost it. She threw her arms around him and cried. She was so relieved at the sight of him! "Megaman! You're O.K.!" she sobbed.

Megaman blushed furiously and he shook his head "No. I'm alive, but not O.K. I need repairs as soon as possible, can you find someone who can?"

Alisi drew back and rubbed her tears away. "I'm so glad that your back. I'll do some repairs. sniff I'll do anything you'd like..."

- - - - -

Dr. Weil would have torn his hair out if he was brave enough. Nothing was going right for him!! They had made fools out of the entire Neo Arcadian army! "Nothing is going right for me!" he thought. Zero stood before him, waiting for the outburst from Dr. Weil. He had made the report and had shown him the piece from Megamans helmet. It was slightly difficult for anyone to guess what Dr. Weil was feeling, what with his back turned to him.

Contrary to what Zero was expecting, Dr. Weil kept his cool and began pacing. "What was it that was stolen Zero?" he asked with his voice kept at a dangerously low level.

"Some suveillance tapes sir." Zero answered. "According to the security team, all from this very room."

Dr. Weil's head jerked up in suprise. "From this room eh? How interesting..."

Zero shrugged. "Quite sir. But sir, I would like to go and rescue Sage Harpuia. I don't want to leave him there with the resistance."

Dr. Weil shook his head firmly. "No, I want you to remain here. I need to figure out what is going on."

Dr. Weil sat down on his throne and began thinking deeply. "A Large Broadcasting dish... Laser schematics... Surveillance tapes..." he looked up at Zero. "What do you think they're trying to do?" he asked, hoping that Zero had some suggestions. Zero thought for a moment. And another, and another...

---

An hour or so later, after Alisi had repaired Megaman, they and Ciel and Cerveau were all in a workshop of Ciel's. After the happy reunion with their friend, they got right to work on the Satellite. It wasn't very large, and Megaman and Alisi didn't do much except observe and hand Cerveau and Ciel parts. Cerveau didn't drop his blow torch once during the whole procedure, and Ciel was loading recorded memory banks into the signal emitter.

"Alisi hand me that tritanium plate please." mumbled Cerveau behind his mask. Alisi handed him the plate and he began welding it down. "This metal must be firmly in place." said Cerveau. "With those Laser Schematics, I should be able to construct some armor that will not be affected by it."

"And I" said Ciel loading more players in the satellite. "Should be able to load the rest of these and set them in a specific playing order. That way the increase of Dr. Weil's activities becoming more and more evil will eventually lead to a climactic part at the end where we recorded Copy X's demand for the Ciel System and later activities."

"Copy X." grumbled Megaman. He had not enjoyed seeing himself copied and made an evil reploid. Thankfully they never programmed him personally. He offered Cerveau some coffee "Coffee Cerveau?" he asked "It's been a while."

Cerveau flipped back his mask and took it gratefully "Thanks."

He took a sip- and spat it out. "What sort of coffee is this?!" he exclaimed in disgust. "Marxwell House?"

Megaman shook his head. "No, it's Bowlgers." replied Megaman.

Cerveau set his coffee down and suddenly fired his blow torch straight into it. A cloud of dark steam arose from his cup and he took a sip. "Aaah.. that's better. It was just cold. I never drink Marxwell House coffee. It tastes like used fishtank water."

Alisi gave a repulsive shudder. "I could have done without that comment." she said "Besides, how would you know what used fishtank water tastes like?"

Cerveau was about to answer when Ciel cut her off. "Don't worry about it Alisi. Megaman, Give me that disk please."

Megaman handed her a disk and Ciel loaded the last of the data into the satellite. "It's finished now." she announced. "Cerveau, please lay another plate of tritanium on this side, and then put another whole layer over the entire thing. I don't want to leave anything to be desired where armor is concerned."

Cerveau nodded and continued working. Megaman and Ciel both went to the computer and looked at the maps. "Megaman, if all goes well, our satellite will broadcast the truth of Dr. Weil to everyone in Neo Arcadia." she said in a low voice.

Megaman nodded and noticed the different Laser turrets that he had infiltrated. "If we can convince them, we will have Neo Arcadia on our side." continued Ciel. "Dr. Weil will once again be banished..."

Megaman looked at her sideways. "You sound, almost unsure of yourself." he remarked.

Ciel drew in a deep breath and sighed. "I'm not." she replied "It's just... well, I didn't think we would ever have a chance of doing this before. We may be able to foil Dr. Weil's plans once and for all, especially without Copy X around. We may actually gain peace again..."

Megaman noticed that her hands were shaking from the thought. Megaman understood perfectly, all those memories of Dr. Light came back to him. He had learned that Dr. Light had had a dream of an era- no, an eternal world of peace between humans and robots. What Ciel had said was very true, and Dr. Light's dream just may come true after all...

"We will launch it immediately." said Ciel. "Help me carry it."

Megaman and Cerveau and Ciel all carefully carried it to the top of the base and laid it down. Ciel signalled to some soldiers and they began to prepare the satellite for launch. "It will be a while before it's ready." said Ciel "Why don't we check up on Sage Harpuia?"

* * *

After many hundreds of moments, Dr. Weil began voicing his ideas. "Maybe they're planning on building a huge laser out of the schematics from our turrets. They could use the satellite dish and... oh never mind, that won't work. Hmmm... I got it! They might use the satellite dish to convert solar energy. They could use the tapes for... hm, what could they use them for..."

Zero gave up. An action you perform when you've thought as hard as possible and still can't figure out what a Resistance is up to. "I give up." he said in resignation. "I've thought as hard as possible, and I still can't figure out what the Resistance is up to. None of those things have anything in common with eachother. I suggest we send in a spy robot to infiltrate the base."

The door to the room suddenly opened and a guard walked in. "Lord Weil." he said with a bow. "We have recieved a report from a spy robot."

Dr. Weil cocked an eyebrow in suprise. "Is that so?" he remarked. Looking at Zero, he said "It looks as though orders travel fast."

"As do robots." added Zero. He turned to the guard "What did you find?"

"We found only a few snapshots of inside activity." replied the guard. "It seems as though Dr. Ciel and Megaman X and others we can't identify are constructing something. I have a photo taken from the lab. Here."

The guard handed Zero a large sheet with x-rayed- diagram graphics printed on it. Zero studied the image for a moment... He suddenly jumped over to Dr. Weil and handed him the image. Dr. Weil's eyes scanned the image from top to bottom. "Laser Schematics... Satellite dish..." he mumbled "security ta-"

His eyes widened to their full extent and his mouth dropped open. Zero and the guard both stood by, wondering what it was that could disturb their leader so much. Dr. Weil threw the photo down after a few moments and ran to his throne. Slamming his fist down on the intercom, he shouted "Operation teams! I order you to redouble your efforts at once! There isn't a nanosecond to lose!"

Turning to Zero and the guard, he said "We have no time to dawdle. I want you two to do whatever you can to improve the speed of our Operation teams. No- wait, not you Zero. I have something else I'd like you to do..."

* * *

Sage Harpuia had almost completely repaired himself being in the capsule since the time he arrived. They found him standing on his feet when they entered. Megaman motioned for Alisi to leave while they spoke to him. Harpuia did not seem to be very nervous, or angry that he had been captured. His head was bowed slightly, and his eyes were shut.

"Megaman X. Dr. Ciel..." he said quietly. "... thank you."

Megaman's eyes flipped open in astonishment. Ciel was also very suprised. Harpuia nodded his head, as if he knew what they were thinking.

"I know what your thinking." he said. "It may seem strange to you that I'm not trying to break out, or attacking any of you. I believe the last time I was here, I was rescued by Zero. I have thought about the recent adventures Zero had before the guardians were banished, and I know the answer now. I can't believe that this has happened to me... or I should say, us."

Ciel's eyes narrowed in confusement. "What are you saying Harpuia?" she asked. "Tell us what you mean."

"Control." replied Harpuia. "Mind control. You must have been suprised that we were suddenly fighting for Dr. Weil when we were not supposed to be in his service. My thinking has lead me to this conclusion. Without Omega, and without the Dark elf, he would almost certainly lose against the resistance without any powerful reploids to fight. He devised a scheme to take control over every reploid he could; including us guardians. It's a powerful curse that almost certainly takes over a mind forever... unless that reploid is killed. Fortunately, Megaman X damaged me only to a critical level without destroying me. I am now completely free from Dr. Weil's control."

He sat down on the capsule and sighed. "I don't blame you for destroying Leviathan, X. You had no choice. But I am glad that at least they were freed. I know that the reviving process may, or may not save her, or Fefnir. But I must rescue them. I have finally seen the injustice performed by Dr. Weil, and I must help stop him. I will need help though... Neo Arcadia may never trust me again for this, but I have no choice."

Megaman patted Harpuia's shoulder. "I'm glad you finally realize the true meaning behind all this." he said. "It has been very difficult to fight you. You still are a defender of Neo Arcadia Sage Harpuia, you must defend it against it's worst enemy. I will help you anyway I can."

Cerveau- who had been pretty silent throughout the talk, suddenly said "How are we going to get Zero back? It's extremely dangerous to get the other guardians back, but how on earth can we get him? He's easily twice as powerful as Megaman is, and that will not be easy. Plus, I don't know how we can damage him enough before he's free. The only time I ever saw Zero critically damaged was when he could no longer fight."

"I think I know." said Ciel. She stood up and held up a small machine. It was peculiarly small and a green glow eminated from it. Cerveau's eyes raised in apparent admiration. "That's a pretty glow." he remarked "But how is that little thing going to secure Zero?"

"It won't." replied Ciel "This is the Ciel System. It has more capabilities than any other energy. It's power can be configured to attract things like a magnet. I am currently attracting something that may be our only hope for saving Zero."

Megaman nodded up and down excitedly. "Yes, Yes? What?" he urged.

" 'The Dark Elf.' " said Ciel. "Or I should say, 'Mother Elf'. It's power to erase the maverick virus from reploids is enough to save Zero. But... Dr. Weil must have put the very darkest of his curse to Zero to completely take over his mind. I think Zero would have had the power to resist it had it not been so powerful. I don't know how much power the Mother Elf may need to use to erase it. It may destroy itself in the doing."

Megaman nodded. Cerveau just shrugged. Harpuia stepped forward and took the device and held it in his hand. "The Ciel System." he muttered "The one reason that so many innocent reploids were retired. It seemed useless when we found out something much larger was behind it. Now there is a use for it. Ciel, your work was not wasted."

"Then again there might not."

Everyone turned to Megaman X. Megaman walked over to Ciel and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ciel, there never will be complete peace in the world. Between reploids and humans, maybe at best. But even if that did happen, evil will still exist. There would still be a hidden evil just waiting for the right moment to spring up. Even century old relics like Dr. Weil will find some way of causing war or disturbance. A world with complete peace is more like bringing heaven down on earth, it will never happen."

If ever there was a more annoying person to spoil a dramatic moment right then, it was Megaman X. He had just crushed a life-long dream of Ciel's and the hope that rested in Cerveau and possibly even Harpuia's. What was the most devestating, is that Megaman X was actually right. Ciel and Cerveau and Harpuia all knew that what he had said was true, and that such a world would never exist.

"But." said Megaman "A world where robots and humans live in peace is not impossible. It only takes a lot of hard work, and a lot of sacrifice. If it means sacrificing the Dark Elf, so be it."

Ciel did not speak. She merely slipped the glowing device in her pocket and walked miserably out of the room. Cerveau glared at Megaman and followed her. Megaman looked at Harpuia, as if expecting him to leave, but he did not. Instead, he walked over to him and said "You are right. Such a thing cannot exist, but if it is to at least come close, we should do whatever we can."

Megaman shook his head up and down in agreement. "I agree with you wholeheartedly."

"Then, you'll help me rescue my friends?" Harpuia asked hopefuly. Megaman grinned "Of course I will. Perhaps we can bring them to realize that we are on the good side and they will join us as well."

Harpuia smiled. "Perhaps they will." he said. "If we are to at least succeed in rescuing them, we had better get a move on. Leviathan and Fefnir must not be put back under control, and we must not fail. We must leave without telling anyone. We cannot risk any of our plans leaking out. They may have sent spybots here if they haven't already."

Megaman nodded- and then shook his head "No, I can't do that. I promised Alisi Thorn that I would not worry her anymore."

Harpuia cocked an eyebrow "You mean that young reploid in white armor?" he asked. "Megaman X, what sort of relationship do you have with that girl? If it has any influence on you that would keep you from rescuing some reploids without endangering your life along with others, than I suggest you put an end to it now. Such a thing will endanger this resistance."

Megaman eyed Harpuia carefully. "What are you saying Harpuia?" he asked "That having a strong bond or relationship between someone is bad? I'll bet you don't think the same about Leviathan, do you?"

Harpuia's face stiffened and his jaw tightened. He stepped closer to him and whispered in a barely cool tone. "I didn't suggest that in the least. X, a promise can only go so far in our particular lives. One person's worry versus so many others' very existance cannot be put on the same platform. You go to Alisi and tell her that you're going to Neo Arcadia with me, there is no other option."

"You're right, of course." said X, who was only so far away from fuming over the truth in Harpuia's statement. "But I've made life sacrifices for millions of humans and reploids my entire life. If I so choose to let some go, I shall. If only for my own selfish reasons. The only reasons I will do it now is because Zero is practically my brother and because I don't want my life's previous work to become wasted."

"Stop acting like a baby and get to it." said Harpuia. "You would never do something like that. While we're waiting here debating your rights to life, Zero is still out there, and one person's trust broken versus his life is nothing to consider and I'm not one for waiting any long length of time."

X glared and left the room. It was clear that both X and Harpuia were far from anything beyond a mutual friendship.


	20. I Promise You I Will

**Okay, for all faithful readers. This chapter is very short, I know. Unfortunately, that is how it has to be. I've looked through my chapters that I completed so long ago and they are in terrible need of revision. So updates will continue to be slow from this one on, and because of the extra work I can only upload this chapter for now. On the plus side, they will be good quality, so I hope that compensates some.**

* * *

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great chapter 19. :)

I helped Megaman again, and he promised me that he wouldn't worry me anymore. :) That is so sweet. :)

Great job!

Alisi T. :)

**Me:** Thanks a lot. There's more Alisi + X stuff in the first part of this chapter.

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**ZBoi:** yeah this chapter is kinda short.. and boring.. plain cos there isnt much action or fluff XD  
Zero x Ciel with cherries on top!  
hope ya update s00n!

**Me:** I'll try to make the next update sooner. I know these things are short, but understand, I've had to rewrite this stuff so much that I can't do more than one chapter unless I'm in a REALLY good mood.

But I am glad you like it. ;-)

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**supercookies567:** hm a little bit dull the chapter but i do like the part when weil wants to rip hair out. Will there be any fluff in the next chater?oh and hurray harpi lived. :D

**Me:** Yes there will be. Enjoy it!

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**Fehize:** -blinks then laughs- Ahh... I am so sorry if I made my comment seem like a request. When I put down comments like the one I just put down, I tend to add emotion, but I never exprect to be taken seriously, to tell the truth. I actually like people to write thier own sotries the way they want. I'm sorry if it looked out that way. What that was was my own personal hopes for the story, but that doesn't mean I want you to change yours for my own whims. lol...

Aside from that, horray for how the story is going. Please update as soon as you can, pretty please. -pokes-

XD XD XD Yadda, yadda, yadda. This is getting to be too long of a comment for me... :P

**Me:** Okay, understood. I'm glad you like it that much. ;-) Updates are going to be slow from this one on, but don't worry, I am working hard to make them good quality. ;-)

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**Lightning Edgeman ZERO:** The truth is always hard to hear. At least X see's and acknowledges the truth though, a bit blunt though ain't he. Sorry if I'm a bit late to your story, I've had problems in life. Well I look forward to your upcoming chapters. Good luck we're all counting on you.

**Me:** At least you did get to reviewing. And you can count on updates, just… let me work on them. These things are old, and they need serious revision.

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**bluewolf963:** Really great story. After reading through it, I had to become a member of this site! I can't wait to see more. Don't keep us hanging for too long.

**Me:** Well thank you very much! I don't get that kind of compliment too often!

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* * *

"You going to go alone?"

Megaman X had just gone to Alisi's room and told her about his and Harpuia's plans. "No, no." said Megaman. "I'm going with Harpuia. We could really use the assistance of those guardians, and besides, Harpuia wants to save his friends and I can to help him."

"But how would you know that?" asked Alisi.

"I've watched him ever since he was created." replied Megaman. "His relationship with the guardians was more than mutual, and he seriously needs Leviathan back. He does not have any will to fight without her, and I feel enough respect for him to want to help him."

"But.. it's dangerous!" said Alisi. "We already have an almost foolproof plan going on, you shouldn't risk going there and losing yourself. You are more important here than there."

Megaman sighed "I won't be lost, Alisi. And Zero risked his life numerous times to rescue reploids that would be of use to the resistance. I'm doing something that will strengthen our forces immensely. And… Zero deserves it."

Alisi sighed in resignation. "I can't stop you," she said "But please Megaman, you and Harpuia are thinking of infiltrating one of the most important facilities in Neo Arcadia and stealing some reploids that are in reviving process. They will probably die if you take them before the process is complete. I know it isn't worth it, please don't go."

Megaman groaned inwardly and rubbed his forehead. Alisi was not making this very easy on him. "I must." he replied firmly. "It's not as if I have a choice. I'm not going to leave Sage Harpuia alone on this mission."

He then laid his hands on her shoulders and looked right in her eyes. "Alisi, I have taken you into my confidence. You mustn't say a word of this to anybody else, not human or machine. Do not even record it in a journal or a file on a computer. Don't tell Ciel or Cerveau. This mission must remain completely secret. I'm not asking you to lie to cover for us, if you are interrogated in any way, go ahead and tell them what I told you. But other than that, you must not betray our secret. Can I trust you?"

Alisi sat down on her bed and stared at the floor in dejection. "No." she replied meekly. "I can't promise that I won't tell anyone about your mission, I worry too much."

Megaman ground his teeth together, took off his helmet and ran his hand through his hair. This was the exact opposite of what he had hoped would happen. But the last thing she had said had interested him. He put his helmet on a chair and sat down beside her on the bed. "Why?" he asked. "Why would you worry so much? I'm perfectly capable of fighting some evil reploids."

"I'm sorry." she said. "I just hate to see someone get hurt. You and I are friends, right?"

Megaman nodded and frowned. He pulled up a chair and sat down. "Of course we are." he replied.

"I… I don't mean to offend you if I say something too personal…" said Alisi. "But you fascinated me the moment I first spoke to you. And… I feel for you more than anything else. You _did_ save my life too and… I hope you'll forgive me…"

She suddenly leaned forward and kissed X. "I wanted to do that before you leave. I'm sorry… I can't ask it of you. You have a right to do what you want after all you've given this world. Go with Harpuia, I won't betray you."

X's face grew very soft and he laid both hands on Alisi's face. X's eyes began to sparkle, and he blinked back tears as he said, his throat choking. "I'm so glad you told me this, Alisi. Not that you won't tell anyone, but… I'll make you a promise. Once we return, and Zero is back and managing things here, I'll marry you… If you want."

Alisi drew in her breath sharply. Inside, X kicked himself a thousand times over as he thought of millions of other better ways he could have… proposed. As it was, he was sure he had frightened Alisi to death.

Fortunately, he hadn't. She laid two shaky hands on X's shoulder. "You saved me, X… I owe you my life. If you want to marry me, I can't refuse you."

"No, no Alisi." said X, taking her in his arms. "I'll marry you only if you want me to. I do love you…"

Bingo.

Out of millions of ways, X picked the right one. Alisi immediately kissed him again, wrapping her arms around X's neck. Then she broke away and opened the door to her room. "Thank you, X. In return I promise… among other things that I will keep silent. Oh please just hurry, Harpuia is waiting for you!"

* * *

Harpuia strolled up and down the base halls restlessly. Megaman was taking an infernal amount of time speaking with Alisi, and he was sure that their mission might end before it had even started because X had insisted upon talking to his girlfriend.

"Maybe I can't blame him." he thought. "I don't know what I would say to Leviathan, and he is voluntarily coming to help me save her. What will it be like, fighting alongside a hero like him?"

He imagined it would be a rare opportunity to get a taste of comradeship from someone so much more superior than himself, and his feelings of annoyance were forgotten as thoughts of pride took their place. "Wait a minute, he's the oldest type model of reploid around. What am I thinking? I'd better be prepared to think out our strategy or else he'll try something crazy."

On his possibly 75th turn, he encountered Enzan and Selah who appeared to be in deep conversation. Enzan noticed him and immediately stood protectively in front of his friend. "What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.

"I am here because I choose to be." Harpuia replied just as coldly. "What are you doing here? I think I remember you. I talked with you on the roof, didn't I?"

Enzan glared at him as he remembered the little incident. "Yes, you most certainly did. And if it weren't for the fact that you are our friend now, I would most speedily repay your... Courtesy."

Harpuia did not appear to be amused by his cliché' and began to resume his stroll. "By the way," he tossed back over his shoulder as he left them. "I apologize for my behavior, Selah. I meant you no harm."

Selah blinked in surprise as Harpuia walked away. "How did he know my name?" Selah asked in astonishment.

Enzan tapped the nameplate on her uniform. "He can read, that's all."

"And," Selah continued "Why is he in Alisi's quarters with Megaman X?"

"That is strange." said Enzan. "Maybe I'm just curious, but I'm going to keep an eye on them as much as possible. Maybe I can figure out what they're doing. Did you know that there was actually four guardians, and one of them was called Phantom?"

"No I didn't!" said Selah in surprise. "What happened to him?"

"In his last moments he self-destructed, trying to kill Zero with his already dying body." said Enzan with a little smirk. "There are just some reploids you can't stop, no matter what you do."

* * *


	21. Secret Unsecret Mission

**supercookies567:** nice chapter i wonder wats gonna happen next? Nice chpter by the way. I hope u update soon! By the way how many chapters are u gonna write? Are there gonna be any zero and ciel moments later on in the story? Love your story will be w8ing for your update!

**Me:** Glad you liked the chapter. This story was really long when I first wrote it, and that was really poorly written anyways, so hopefully it will be shorted. This is the first LONG fic I've written.

Love my story? Well thanks, I love your reviews!

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**ZEROfromtheOTHERDIMENSION:** This is the LightningEdgeman, I'm just way too lazy to type in my E-mail to log in. About the chapter... Whoa 00'! X is getting married! Wow... Dude he got skills.XD Hope you get your writing shoes on and goodluck! P.S. If you noticed the shoes Don't ask...

**Me:** Shoes, huh? Whatever. Glad you liked it. Thanks for the good luck, I had a lot of it while I redid this chapter. I'm eager to hear your response on it. :-)

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**bluewolf963:** Yeah, that was kind of short, but quality is better than quantity any day. :3 Nice chapter. X getting married... didn't see that one coming, but sure, why not? He's busted himself more than once to make the world better. Revisions are okay, but don't take too long!

**Me:** Glad you liked it. X, married? Of course why not! Sometimes it gets annoying just to see him love some girl and never actually get to that point. All logic points to him getting married considering his character and what he does. I am of course talking about him in relation to fanfics here. Obviously he was underdeveloped in his early stages since that was the way it was back in the 1990's.

Revisions are definitely okay. Particularly when it comes to this. Believe me, the original was awful!

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I've failed yet again to keep a consistent update on my hands. I think I won't give anymore time guarantees since I don't want to keep disappointing you guys. This story needs so much more work that it turns into an unpleasant work project and I tend to avoid those. Even with awesome reviews, I'm sad to say. I hope you enjoy this chapter for what it's worth though. There is plenty of fighting and it is really long, so chew on this at your leisure. I can guarantee my frequent readers that they will like it.

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"Come on Bob, let's perform a final hash check."

Bob nodded and checked the security system. Ever since he and Bob had been kicked out of TV security they were able to find work in a security system for a reploid lab. They both just did basic stuff and checked to make sure things ran correctly. Tonight they were lucky, they didn't need to do full checking and they could get out early.

"It looks like everything is clear, Bob." said Bob as he closed the console. "Let's go get some more donuts."

"Donuts…" muttered Bob dreamily. He practically counted the minutes till he could chow down on a fresh sticky ring of dough. "That sounds like a plan to me. By the way, what about checking the vicinity outside in the delivery area and trash tubes? What about those two reploids that are about to be revived in a couple of hours?"

Bob shook his head. "Naw. Besides, why would anyone want to steal trash? And who would steal reploids in hibernation anyway?"

"That's true." agreed Bob. "You know I heard new technology has sped up reviving processes, I think those two will be activated really soon. Let's go."

-------

Outside, two dark cloaked figures stepped silently out of the darkness and into the work yard of the reploid lab. They kept themselves concealed from the lights shining on them from the street lamps and moved quickly when in the shadows of the dark night.

"Keep your head down." Whispered one. "Your helmet stands out and you may be recognized."

"I know that." replied the other "You don't need to tell me thrice."

It was X and Harpuia. The city of Neo Arcadia was very quiet in this rather secluded section of the town. A good place for a reploid lab. Such a lab undoubtedly had high security on it though; particularly since two such important reploids were stored there. Megaman X and Harpuia tried to get in the sneakiest way possible. Bent low, they ducked underneath a large hovercraft and surveyed the distance that lay between them and the lab.

"Flying may help." suggested Harpuia. "I can carry you."

"No." said X. "That won't work, we'd still have to land and there's no entrances on the roof."

"How do you know that?" said Harpuia.

"Being a cyber-elf for so long has its advantages." X explained, trying to see through the dark. "I have information on just about every building in the city. I'm trying to think of a way we can get into this one."

Harpuia clapped his hands together and a little twinkle of light emerged from his palm. "We should at least know what's ahead of us."

He leaned out from underneath the craft and tossed the twinkle into the sky. Later, a bolt of lighting struck down and hit a street lamp. There was an instance of brilliant light and X and Harpuia could see what was ahead of them.

Harpuia pointed with his finger to several large pipes. "I think we can get in through those." Said Harpuia. "They're tubes that transport waste. Nobody keeps a close monitor on them. Come on, let's go."

They both started crawling on their elbows towards the large lead pipes, careful to see if anyone was watching them; though if anyone **was** standing in the middle of the work yard, they might have sensed their presence just for the fact that they were so silent.

Suddenly, Harpuia stopped moving and motioned for X to remain still. "We're being watched." he said. X looked up and saw that Harpuia was right. Just above them was a camera attached to a rotating work-yard light and they were caught in its vision. They waited.

And nothing happened. X looked at Harpuia in confusion and Harpuia shrugged. The camera continued to rotate and it didn't stop turning when it spotted them.

"No alarm. They probably don't know we're here." suggested X. "I think it's time to run now. I'll secure the camera so it doesn't see us."

X fired some Web Trap over the camera lens and both he and Harpuia got up and ran the rest of the way to the building. They both found a trash tube and Harpuia slashed it open with his sabers. Inside the pipe, they could see some rather unattractive build up on the sides. X set is jaw and stepped in.

"Time to get our hands dirty." he said grimacing.

----

Down inside the trash center, a small group of humans jumped at the sound of Harpuia's sabers cutting the pipe and the sound of clambering from someone coming down the tube.

"They've found us." whispered a female. "We have nowhere else to go. We'll never reach them in time even if we do escape!"

"I know." said a gruff male voice. "But we must try and hide. Quick, hide behind the machinery!"

* * *

X set his hand against the wall and slid down the wall of the pipe. Harpuia climbed in head first, using his sabers to serve as handholds in the slimy pipe. Once they reached the end, they found themselves in a large container of trash and ended up having to blast a whole through the wall to get out.

"I'm glad I'm not in there anymore." said Harpuia in relief.

"**Gasp!"**

Harpuia looked around. Nobody was there. "What's wrong, X?" he asked.

X clambered out of the pipe. "**Is** something wrong?"

Harpuia nodded and began to search the room. If X hadn't gasped, it was someone else. Someone who might know who they were. X charged his buster and peered around ready to fire. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, out from behind a control console, a large man leapt out and whipped out a firearm and fired a round of shots. X and Harpuia nearly jumped, but the shots he fired were made of metal. It was a revolver, a primitive weapon compared to the technology of the century.

Megaman stood, not flinching at the pitifully weak shots that bounced off his armor. Even in his youngest days without any improvements he wouldn't have felt these shots. "Stop it." he commanded. "Your fire power is useless."

Harpuia put his sabers back. "Don't shoot them." he said "They're humans."

The man advanced forward and waved his pistol in a defensive stance. "Stay back!" he yelled. "Don't even think of hurting us!"

X advanced forward and held up his hands. "Hurting you? You're the one throwing weapons around. By the way, what do you mean by -us-?"

At that, the whole room seemed to come alive with shouts and cries and running people. Behind machinery and doors and anyplace that could conceal a person came someone who ran for the exit door. "They've discovered us!" cried the man, raising his gun like a club. "Get away while I hold them off!"

X quickly grabbed the man and restrained him while Harpuia flew over the people's heads, blocking the exit door. The small crowd of humans shrunk away from him and huddled together in fear. The group of people didn't appear dangerous. In fact, they looked like perfectly normal people. Most of the group contained adults, and they all looked frightened, as if they were discovered in the attempt of some crime.

X released the man and crossed his arms. "What on earth is going on here?" he demanded.

The person closest to X cried "You'll never take us alive!"

Harpuia drew one of his sabers and held it aloft. "I am Sage Harpuia." he announced. "Part of the league of justice fighters. I have no intention of harming any of you. I am here on a secret mission, but what are all of you doing here?"

The man whom they had met first jumped forward and yelled "You don't have any right to interrogate us! You're just a soldier, and you don't have any warrant. We are citizens of Neo Arcadia and we have our rights!"

X grabbed the man and drew him close to his face. "Listen you. I am not a citizen of Neo Arcadia, and I'm not subject to it's laws. One word from my friend here and the only right you will have is a garbage heap. I'm going to ask you some questions, and you had better answer them. Got it, mister?"

The man seemed intimidated and he calmed down mumbling in quiet anger. X faced the group. "Alright. I came here hoping to do something to help humans in my ultimate intentions, but I never expected to find any here. Why are you all here, and why are you all so frightened of us?"

Nobody answered. X tapped his foot impatiently. "Come on now, we don't have all night. Is anyone here going to answer? I really don't mean any harm to you."

This time, a man and a woman stepped forward. "We're the ones in charge." said the woman. "We'll answer your questions. We didn't come here to steal, or anything like that. We are only hiding for a while, we'll leave right now."

"That's not our concern." said Harpuia. "**Why are you hiding?** **Who** are you hiding from?"

"We're hiding from Neo Arcadian Secret Police." answered the man. "They want to stop us from revealing the truth. They don't want us to tell people that the secret police are about to-"

"Just a minute." said X. "I think I recognize you two."

The man and the woman looked at each other in confusion. X studied them carefully. He recognized the eyes of the woman, and the facial structure of the man. "What are your names?"

"My name is Capella." answered the man. "This is my wife, Ciel."

X's eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise. "Ciel?" he echoed. "Now I remember! You gave birth to Dr. Ciel of the Resistance force!"

A hush fell over the crowd and Ciel did not answer. Capella whispered something in his wife's ear and she shook her head. For a few minutes it looked like they were in some kind of debate and X waited patiently for them to finish. Harpuia looked at him, wondering what could be so secretive. X could detect that Ciel might not trust him, but he believe Capella thought otherwise. Finally, it looked like Capella was forcing Ciel to answer and she sighed; stepped forward and said solidly.

"Yes, I'm her mother."

X sighed in satisfaction. He smiled and replied "I thought so. Especially after you just answered me like that. You looked rather like your daughter did when she had trouble making a decision. Why are you hiding here? What is going on?"

This time Capella answered "We're trying to run from Dr. Weil's men. They're after us because we've uncovered information revealing a secret plan."

"What plan is that?" asked Harpuia.

"We don't know for sure." Capella replied. "I think it's name is some kind of German word, but I don't know the meaning. The things the police have done to keep us from spreading the word is so horrific… I'm certain their plan is dangerous."

"It's true." Ciel replied. "We know what Dr. Weil did to the three guardians and what he tried to do with the Dark Elf. Everyone did I suppose. Then, once the police began to visit every house in the city, people began to act differently. It was as if they never suspected Dr. Weil of anything, or knew his true colors."

Harpuia turned to Megaman. "They may have done the same to Leviathan and Fefnir."

"Perhaps." said Ciel. "Is that why you're here? To get the guardians back?"

X nodded. "Yes, but first, we have to decide what to do with you. Apparently, you know the meaning of the resistance force by now. Your daughter could see it coming all along, but I doubt you ever believed her. What do you hope to do now?"

The couple both felt embarrased. Ciel looked away and Capella stared at the floor. They didn't have to answer though, as the hot headed guy replied for them. "We are going to escape from here and live someplace where we won't need to run from Weil."

Harpuia glanced at him suspiciously. "That's putting it rather blunt." he remarked. "But I suppose we don't want to interfere with you. We're here to retrieve some reploids, not tamper with you. Come on X, let's go."

"Wait a minute," said X. "I think these people could use some help."

Harpuia walked over to the door and opened it. "Like I said earlier," he replied "We can't let anyone interfere with our mission. I am a guardian of Neo Arcadia, and it is my duty to protect it. Trying to help these people escape might jeopardize our goal to save millions of others. I can't take that chance. Are you coming, or what?"

Megaman did not reply. Harpuia turned around and said "Megaman?"

Megaman was standing perfectly still, apparently listening and craning his neck in different directions. "Someone's coming." he said. His stare then went to the floor, and then down to Harpuia.

"LOOK OUT!!" He shouted. Harpuia spun around in time to see the floor behind him explode and Zero fly out of it, his red eyes shining while he whirled the Triple Rod. Megaman dove forwards and knocked Harpuia out of the way of Zero's twirling attack. Zero stabbed downward and struck Harpuia's arm. Harpuia cried out and rolled out of the way in time for Megaman to lift his left buster and shoot the Triple Rod out of Zero's hands. Harpuia leapt into the air and snatched the weapon himself.

Zero snarled at him and faced X. X was charging both busters and had them both trained on Zero. The people all cowered behind the machinery again, particularly the hotheaded man who seemed more a coward than a fighter. Harpuia hovered before the people and X held Zero at bay.

"Stand away, X!" said Zero.

X shook his head and prepared to fire. "What do _**YOU**_ want?" he demanded. "And why are you here?"

"Them." said Zero; answering both questions. "Particularly those two Cappela's. Lord Weil has sent to find them."

Zero advanced, but X did also, not letting him past. "I'm not moving." said X firmly. "Now why do you want them?"

"To stop them from spreading the lies of our worthy cause!" ranted Zero.

"He's in worse shape than I thought." thought Megaman.

Zero ranted on and on with nonsense about a better utopia for humans and that Ciel and Capella were trying to stop it. "I am under strict instructions to take them prisoner. I will take them and leave." finished Zero as he took out the Anomale Projector.

"Watch it X." warned Harpuia. "That's an electromagnetic net!"

Zero began to stride by X, who jumped in front of him and said "Don't come a step closer, Zero. I will shoot if you try to."

Zero calmly lifted both hands in the air, as if in surrender- then he whipped out his saber and blocked both the incoming shots from X. He then took the A.P. and captured X in its green glow.

The people began to murmur in fear. Harpuia thought fast. He leapt into the air and slashed a piece of mirror-like glass from the skylight. He glided down to Zero, hovered above the A.P. beam and lowered the glass into the ray. The mirror reflected the ray and it went past Zero to grab one of the machines lining the wall. X, freed of the net, flipped backwards and turned his weapon to Flame Ball.

"Go Harpuia!" he cried. "I'll hold him off, go get the others!"

Zero, enraged that his quarry escaped him, jerked on his A.P. and tore the machine from the wall, flinging it at Harpuia, but Harpuia merely hurled the Triple Rod through the air, cutting it in two. He then dove through the door behind Zero and raced down the passageway. X fired a charged Flame Ball at the top of the passage doorway, making the passageway collapse.

Zero- seeing his pursuit already lost, whipped out his Z-Saber and advanced angrily. "You will pay for this, X." he growled.

---

Harpuia ran down the halls with his sabers drawn. He knew he had little time before security might spot him and send guards after him. He wasn't that worried about the guards, but they might cut off access to certain rooms, possibly preventing him from reaching his friends. He followed a series of directions on the walls to the reviving room. Unfortunately, the reviving room was rather far from the garbage center due to needing the most sanitary environment in which to work.

If he ever came to a door, he would open it, or hack it open, alerting some automated security devices. They posed no real problem in eliminating. He hoped that they wouldn't find out about X and the humans.

"I hope that they don't find out about X and the humans." he thought.

_Author's Note: Smirks Yeah, I know it hurts._

---

X did a double back flip as Zero charged him. He landed on the wall and propelled himself towards Zero, kicking him with both legs. Zero back flipped forwards, but was on his feet before too long. X tried to tackle him, but Zero was too fast for him and slashed X in his chest. While X stumbled about from the searing pain, Zero fired shots at the different machinery in the room. X switched to Lightning Strike and bolts of lighting hit the shots, making them dissipate before they could cause any harm to the people.

X then activated his Stun Blade and countered the ray of the A.P. which Zero had just tried to capture him with. X didn't move for fear of being caught in the ray. Zero saw this and charged his own buster. Once it was charged, he switched of his A.P. to shoot at X. Unfortunately for him, X had instantly switched to Ice Mine and fired, causing an explosion which left Zero's paint job much to be desired.

This time X was able to launch himself on Zero, pile-driving him in the face to keep from being knocked off. Then he locked arms with him and carried Zero into a roll across the floor until he slammed Zero's body into the wall. Zero's anger lent him strength and once he recovered from the body slam, engaged in hand to hand combat himself. Both reploids rolled about the room; neither gaining the advantage. Finally, Megaman found himself lying on his back and knocked Zero away using his legs. Zero was caught by surprise and when he had landed, found himself bent like a jackknife behind a machine.

X switched back to plasma and shouted to the people. "Get out of here! Go through the tube!"

The people scrambled out of their hiding places and jumped into the garbage tube. X raced over to Zero and shot Web Trap all over him, temporarily restraining him. He took the A.P., the Triple Rod, the Recoil Rod and Zero's buster. Before X could take the rest of Zero's weapons, Zero got a grip on his saber and sliced himself free from the web. Thinking quickly, X somersaulted backwards until he was blocking access to the garbage tube, firing plasma shots as he did.

- - -

Harpuia had found the reviving room. He had only needed to fight off a few teams of security to reach it. Inside, he found rows and rows of large glass walled containers with reploids in them. It looked like they were floating in the green fluid typically used in Sci-Fi TV series to display suspended animation for its inhabitant.

He found Fefnir and Leviathan in a more limited access part of the lab. He was glad to see his fiery friend in good shape. He was extremely relieved to see that his Leviathan had sustained no real disfiguration during her reviving process and he could still recognize her for who she was.

He bent down to the control panels and tried to unlock the doors to the capsules. Once he activated it, the mini console spoke. "HELLO. WELCOME TO CAPSULES Hg3 AND Hg4. TO ACCESS CAPSULE, PLEASE INPUT PROPER I.D., USER PASSWORD, AUTHORIZATION NUMBER, PROPER VOICE PATTERN, EYE SCAN, REASON FOR ACCESS, CODE NAME FOR NUMBERS 3-6-6-8-8-7, GOOD LOOKS-"

Harpuia did not have time for this. He hacked the console in two and the doors automatically opened. He took both of them and lay them on the floor with their heads leaning against their capsules. He then opened two panels on each of their arms and used the weakest lightning strike he could manage. The bolts struck the panels inside the Guardian's arms and sent electricity flowing inside.

Fefnir began to cough and stir. He opened his eyes and lurched forward, spitting out the green fluid. "Where am I?" He gasped. "And why does it feel like I've eaten ten tons of leftover lab experiments?"

Harpuia shook Leviathan until her teeth began to clack together. She finally woke up and pried herself from Harpuia's grasp. She had had her mouth shut during the process and didn't have the problems Fefnir had. She looked around and felt her arms and wrists, wondering how she could possibly be alive again. Then she noticed Harpuia. Harpuia's face, so different from his normally personality. He was smiling at her! His face displayed such joy that she thought she might have lost her mind.

"Hi Leviathan." Said Harpuia.

* * *

While it had seemed X had gained the upper hand, Zero was not without his own skills. And while X was in the defensive mode, that gave Zero the room to dodge X's shots and catch him round the ankles with the Chain Rod. Zero jerked X off his feet and dragged him away from the tube. X switched to Stun Blade and drove it into the floor and held fast to wear he was. The last of the humans finally escaped through the pipe.

"Too late, Zero." said X, driving his saber further into the floor. Zero glared at X, and then suddenly got an idea. He released X, and seemed to retreat, running as fast as he could to the other side of the room. X scrambled to his feet and began charging his busters, wondering what he was doing.

To his dismay, Zero used his momentum to carry himself up the wall and then launch himself in an arc over X's head towards the tube's entrance. X had no time to shoot and threw himself right into Zero's path. Zero smiled in satisfaction and shoved his saber straight into X's side.

"YAAAAAH!!" screamed X. The searing hot glow nearly cut right through him. He fell to the floor, unable to stand or move.

Zero landed beside X and prepared to finish him off. Harpuia entered the room along with his friends, but they stopped when they saw Zero poised over X.

For several frightening moments it looked to the others like Zero was always just about to cut X to pieces. In reality though, Zero's good side was on the attack again and was fighting desperately against this action.

"_Everything Dr. Weil wishes is your purpose, Zero!"_

"**He's not God. I will not be controlled by a program!"**

"_Silence! Whatever you think you are just give up. You cannot stand against me, not a program. I have taken over your ultimate mind, what can you hope to do?"_

"**I'm better than a program. I'm independent, and I'm going to fight you till I find a way to work around you."**

Then Zero's face would return to normal, and then twist into painful and sometimes frustrated positions. He suddenly struck, but just as quickly drew back and missed X. Harpuia shot forward and took X to a safe distance from Zero, he was now turning his saber off and on in an indeterminable pattern.

He screamed madly in desperation "DR. WEIL!". He dashed franticly for the entrance he had made in the floor, as if trying to find his maker to rescue him from his struggles. But he didn't make it and he fell to the floor, his whole body thrashing about in seizure-like convulsions as he fought between standing and lying down.

Suddenly he froze in the middle of a convulsion. His eyes had returned to normal and they rolled in Harpuia's direction. "I've… done it!" he rasped. "Use my… Saber!"

Harpuia went to Zero and took Zero's saber from it's sheath. Zero drew tighter in his convulsion, and then, to everyone's surprise, a ball of energy rose out of Zero's body and hovered a mere inch from re-entering. Harpuia activated the saber and slashed right down the center of it.

It exploded. The room was filled with a blinding blue light and everyone could see chunks of the program floating through the air. Right down to the ones and zeroes the program broke apart before them, though they could see little because of the light. They shielded their eyes until it died down.

Then Zero went limp on the floor. X crawled up to him and shook him, but nothing happened. Harpuia walked over to X and gave him as well as Zero several energy cans. "I got them off the security guards." he explained.

X felt his huge wound begin to slowly come together again. This time, however, he would need extensive repairs to fully heal this wound. He got to his feet and picked up Zero. "Let's go." he said quietly. "I don't think Zero is entirely disinfected. I want to take him back to the base. It's good to see you two by the way."


	22. Satellite LaunchBurly Brawl At Arcadia

**Zboi:**wow i have been waiting for this for quite long XP  
Zero is normal again!! or at least i hope so for now  
Zero X Ciel Fluffy :P  
hope ya update s00n!!

**Me:** Sorry for it now being soon. I hope you like this one.

- - -

**supercookies567: **yay Zero's back and yes this chapter is long hope u keep up with the updates. I wonder how many more chapters till the end? I hope the endings gonna be something exciting! Well keep up the good work hope writers block doesnt get ya. D:

**Me:** The end will be in a few chapters. And just so you know, writer's block didn't get me. It's just freaking school work. ):-(

- - -

**Alisi Thorndyke:** Hey Matt. :) Great chapter 21. :) I haven't been able to write much of anything between my new job and my classes, but something should be out by this upcoming weekend. Something, not sure, but meh, but keep an eye out. I'm tired...

Alisi T. :)

**Me:** I understand totally. :-) You probably have an even tougher schedule than I do.

- - -

**bluewolf963:** Awesome chapter! It was worth the wait, that's for sure. It's great to Zero might finally recover. Keep it up, champ!

**Me:** Well thank you very much:-) I'm glad you appreciate it!

FINALLY! I get a chance to update. Really, school has become much harder and time consuming for me, and when I do get a chance to go on the computer, I'm always never in the mood to do things like this. But today I finally did, I hope you enjoy it, y'all.

* * *

"Launch commencing in five minutes Miss Ciel!"

"Very good!" said Ciel. "Be ready to launch once I give the word. Stand by."

Ciel set her mic down and leaned back in her seat in satisfaction. The satellite was finally ready for launching and every reploid in the resistance was watching the launch pad via visual feed from the tower cameras. They set their eyes on what would end their struggles with Dr. Weil and Neo Arcadia once and for all.

Ciel spoke to a nearby soldier. "Where is Megaman X? Shouldn't he be here by now?"

The soldier shrugged. Ciel picked up a microphone and contacted Alisi. Alisi's voice spoke over the phone. "Hello?"

"Alisi, is Megaman with you?" asked Ciel "He isn't here and the satellite is about to be launched."

"I'm sure I don't know where he is." replied Alisi.

Ciel wasn't sure, but it sounded like she was a little nervous. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No no!" said Alisi. "Nothing's wrong. I'll see if I can find him. click"

- - - - - - - - - -

Alisi turned off her phone and bit her lip. She wanted to contact X, but she was afraid she might betray him with the transmission. What was worse is that she really did not know where Megaman was. She didn't know if he was being destroyed, was successful, being held prisoner, about to be... she stopped imagining there. "I'll wait." she thought. "I hope Ciel doesn't ask me to explain this."

------

It was a very difficult process to get Zero's body out of the tube, but with Harpuia's and Fefnir's help, it was made easier. Leviathan dragged X out easily, being accustomed to being in slippery places. Zero was in bad shape. The departure of the evil energy took quite a toll on his body, and it needed special internal repairs that a capsule could not mend. Leviathan and Fefnir were in great shape, and they were acting like their normal selves.

"Come on," said Leviathan as she pulled Megaman out of the tube. "We don't know how much time we have to get out of here."

Megaman used his good arm and pulled himself out and onto the ground. Fefnir followed with Zero and Fefnir in tow. They all fell out of the pipe and lay recuperating on the ground.

"My teleportation device is broken." said Megaman. "I can't get back by myself, and you guys can't transfer there without alerting the base. I don't want them alerted to what we've been doing. Besides, they may not trust you two, or Zero."

"Then what can we do?" asked Fefnir. "Sit around here while security may find us and have a whole army of security guards converge on us?"

"It's our only option." said Leviathan.

"Actually, since it is our only way, it isn't even an option, Leviathan." said Harpuia with a smile.

Suddenly, a whole small army of reploids marched along the perimeter of the yard. The four heroes moved into the shadows and kept hidden. The guards silently walked by, not noticing the group, not even turning their heads to look in their general direction. They all seemed to be moving in one direction, leading towards the more run down section of the city.

"What are they going there for?" whispered Harpuia.

X shrugged. "I'm sure I don't know." he replied, struggling to his feet. "But I think I'm able to walk now. Let's follow them just for a little while before we head back. I want to see what they plan to do."

* * *

"One minute to launch, Miss Ciel!"

"Very well." replied Ciel. "By the way, do you have any idea where Megaman X is?"

"Um.. no Miss Ciel, That's not my department." replied the soldier.

Ciel sighed and turned off the mic. It was probably nothing, but it seemed like ever since Megaman had crushed her hopes for total-peace, she had not seen him. She switched to Alisi again.

"Alisi? Are you sure you have no idea where Megaman is?" she asked.

Alisi sounded nervous now. "I'm sure.. really, I am!"

"You don't need to be so defensive." retorted Ciel. She turned it off and set the mic down. Then... she picked it back up and called Cerveau.

"Cerveau, have you seen Megaman or Harpuia anywhere?"

Cerveau replied "Hmmm... Yep. This coffee sure is nice. Oh, I mean no, I haven't. Not a sight of them since that little incident."

Ciel sighed. "Oh well, if you see them let me know."

* * *

The soldiers marched in perfect and silent unison down the dark street of the old city. They were all heavily armed and were following a trail of footsteps left by a large crowd of people into the area. At the front marched the heavily armored Blue Fist drones-

**(I'm sorry, I couldn't find the real names.) **

who lead the army to remove any obstacle in their path with ease. Behind them the turrets and Beam walkers and Bees and Drones all followed behind. At the back, the Stun Blade drones kept the back ranks, following a line of turrets. Their full forward attention was so focused, that nobody noticed when five of them were suddenly snatched out of the ranks and dragged behind a building.

Harpuia and Leviathan both destroyed the drones they had captured and collected what energy units from them they could. First they gave them to X, who could finally move about with comfort and Zero's damage was lessened somewhat. They followed the silent army of drones, keeping back so they wouldn't be noticed.

"I have a bad feeling that I know what it is they're after." said Megaman in a worried tone. "If anybody starts shooting or fighting, we must move in."

"No problem." whispered Fefnir. "I'll be glad to have this load off my back. Zero's heavier than I remember."

Harpuia held his end of Zero showing no trace of effort. "I don't think he's that heavy." he said "But don't drop him. Any noise and that army will notice."

They all stopped as the army slowed down and came to a halt. The group were about fifty feet away from the reploids when a few of them went into a building to search. Harpuia and Fefnir set Zero down and rested while Megaman and Leviathan watched what was happening. Unfortunately, they couldn't see much from where they were, so they both climbed an old wall and peered over the heads of the army.

"Nuts. They've already disappeared into one of these shacks, or whatever they are." muttered Megaman. "Let's wait and see what's going on."

For a few minutes they waited. Nothing happened. The soldiers remained where they were and no attack was made. Leviathan thought she had been spotted and they both ducked down behind the wall and leaned against it holding their breath.

"I don't think they saw us." Leviathan whispered. "Say… What is that?"

Leviathan pointed to a point far outside the outskirts of Neo Arcadia. Megaman looked and saw a small yellow glow on the horizon and a bright blinking object soar out of the glow and into the sky.

Megaman smiled excitedly. "It's the satellite!" he whispered. "Ciel must have launched it already!"

"What satellite?" asked Leviathan.

There was no real time to explain, for just as he was about to answer, a loud commotion erupted from the front ranks, and the first few lines charged forward into an old warehouse where shots and other sounds of combat echoed outside. Harpuia and Fefnir both joined the two.

"It's the humans!" yelled Harpuia. "We've got to get in there!"

Megaman immediately took charge. He had already formed a plan in his mind. He had been general of the maverick hunters once, and his ideas and plans of attack never failed him.

"Fefnir! You set fire to these buildings! Leviathan, fire a few Ice Mines into the ranks and then follow me and Harpuia into the warehouse!"

Megaman and Harpuia flew over the heads of the soldiers, (Megaman using his Air Dash) and landed on the roof of the warehouse. The soldiers all jumped in surprise as one of the buildings suddenly burst into flames! Some of them, barely had the time to figure out which was more surprising. The fire, or the Ice Mine that was fired into their midst, blowing up a large number of them.

- - - - - - - - - -

The humans had no idea what was happening. The large doors to the warehouse suddenly blew apart and a reploid army flooded in. The all ran away as quickly as possible to the other end, all trying to take cover behind boxes or other old machinery. It proved futile though, as the soldiers simply blew them apart. The few that owned pistols fired repeatedly, but it barely struck the paint off the armor of the reploids.

Capella hefted a blaster and yelled for everyone to try to escape while he covered them. Everyone began to run, except Ciel, who would not leave him. The small army charged forward. The reploids were not in the mood to negotiate, they were shooting to kill.

Then, a large chunk of the ceiling collapsed and crushed the first reploids. Megaman and Harpuia dropped in, with their weapons at the ready. "Leave this area now!" commanded Harpuia.

One of the soldiers yelled out defiantly "Who are you to be giving orders? Our Lord, Dr. Weil declared you an outcast just a few days ago!"

Harpuia's blood temperature spiked to the boiling point in an instant. He let out a scream of rage and he clapped his hands together, sending Lighting bolt right into the obnoxious reploid, incinerating him instantly. The reploids charged forward furiously, each hoping that perhaps the person to catch the green reploid would be rewarded in some way.

But it would not be easy. Harpuia dashed forward and hacked and sliced with his sabers, destroying any and all reploids foolish enough to step forward. Megaman fired shot after shot into the ranks, charging at times to let white hot balls of plasma rip through the reploid army. For a while, it looked as though the people might escape and that the reploids would be destroyed.

Unfortunately, the distractions set by Leviathan and Fefnir had stopped working and the rest of the huge army began to flood in, tearing through the walls of the warehouse. For a minute, it looked like there was no way even Harpuia and Megaman X could take them on as well as protect the humans, but diving through the hole of the ceiling once more was Fefnir and Leviathan.

"I think you could use some help!" said Fefnir aiming his cannon.

"Alright!" said Megaman. "Now let's show these soldiers what we can do!"

- - - - - - - - - -

Back at the resistance base, Ciel had finally confronted Alisi regarding what happened and was convinced she knew what was going on. Alisi did her best to keep it secret, but her increasingly nervous behavior had Ciel convinced.

"Why won't you tell me?" she demanded.

Alisi ground her teeth and refused to answer.

Ciel became angry. "Do you realize what could happen to us if Dr. Weil sends an army here? That would endanger this entire resistance. I need to know where they are and what they're doing."

Ciel grabbed Alisi's arm and led her to a phone. "I want you to call him right now and ask him to return." she ordered.

Ciel picked up the phone and put it in Alisi's hands. "What you did was unacceptable Alisi Thorn. I want you to call him so we can get a hold of his signal and transfer him and whoever's with him back. Do it now!"

- - - - - - - - - -

The battle was incredible. Never had the forces of Neo Arcadia ever encountered such fierce and powerful fighters! Fefnir would charge right into the middle of some reploids and burn each of them with his Flame Cannon. He would punch down anyone he could not shoot. Megaman was in his prime, switching from any one of the weapons he had captured during his earlier fights. His speed and accuracy was unmatched and anybody who so much as lifted a weapon to his level never had a chance to fire. Harpuia was soaring over the soldiers heads; Often snatching one of the bigger ones up, he would whirl them around and around till he let it go flying into another group. His sabers slashed away many reploids to the ground and caused huge piles of parts to greatly hinder the advance of the army. Leviathan, who was not as agile as she was underwater, proceeded to simply defending the humans escape with flying icicles and Ice Mines. No reploid could get within a thirty foot radius of the humans as the last of them hurried outside.

Megaman performed a flip kick sending a blue fist drone into an Ice turret. A swarm of Bee Drones swarmed in. Megaman jumped up and caught a hold of one of them. He switched to Flame Ball and began shooting one by one. Finally, he destroyed the one he was holding onto and fell to the ground, knocking down a Stun Blade drone.

"I hope that hurt!" he remarked. He looked up to make sure there were no other drones flying in the air, and noticed a lot of drones cutting away at the ceiling! Suddenly, all the drones who could fire did at the ceiling, blowing it clean off! A whole rain of fragments fell down and ruined Harpuia's flight. Fefnir was about to fry someone, but his flame was blocked by a chunk of cieling.

"Harpuia! It would take forever to destroy these drones!" yelled Megaman. "Let's fall back and protect the humans!"

Just then, the whole area was bathed in a glaring pink light. Several shots were being fired into the air at a small blinking object soaring over the city. Everyone forgot their fighting to stare at the flashing sky. Every ray of pink light was repelled by the object, and some of the repelled shots hit the city. Some of the shots came dangerously close to reploids themselves. And one of them...

"Get down!" Yelled Megaman as he knocked Fefnir to the ground. A large particle of laser beam shot over them and plowed right through one side of the building and out the other. Leviathan saw another shot coming, but had no way to avoid it. Thankfully, Harpuia swept down and snatched her up while the beam hit the doorway the humans escaped from. Everyone including the reploids, ran outside the collapsing building.

The entire area was being pelted by large particles of lasers from the turrets! As they escaped, the whole army turned into one massed rally of confused reploids. The shots rained down hard and heavy, leaving nothing to be desired as remains go. Reploid after Reploid was struck down as the shots flew quick and deadly.

The heroes slowly worked their way towards each other as they had to constantly defend themselves against the laser shots. Megaman could see the impossibility of trying to fight and protect the humans with this rain of firepower. "Everyone listen to me!" he shouted "There's nothing we can do! We need to collect Zero and get out of here while we have a chance!"


	23. Mother Came For Him

--

Harpuia created winds that carried the group into the air and over to Zero. His winds swept up Zero's limp form underneath the group which now formed into a type of umbrella, using their various weapons to shield him against the hail of fire.

As X fired a voice came over his head mic. "X! It's Alisi!"

X ground his teeth. Too many things were happening at once. "Alisi, I can't talk to you! I'm under attack!"

"X! Ciel is going to get a hold of your signal and transfer you back!" said Alisi.

"Alisi, my device is broken, you can't transfer me." said X. "The rest of us are too busy to transfer anyway. And how does Ciel know about this?"

There was a crackling sound and Ciel's voice came through. "I figured it out on my own, X. Where are you and why are you in battle?"

X switched to Ice Mine and charged his buster. "I'm at Neo Arcadia! I'm defending myself and Zero against our own satellite! The lasers keep shooting, and the shield is sending the laser fire down at us!"

Ciel was silent for a few moments. X fired off a barrage of Ice Mines which exploded in a chain, providing a few seconds of breathing time. Ciel spoke again. "Take a sharp right turn from your current heading. It leads back into Neo Arcadia, but it will take you out of the hail of laser fire. When that happens you will have plenty of time to relax and transfer back to us."

X relayed his message to Harpuia and the group drifted in the right direction. Leviathan suddenly shouted aloud to everyone "Can you hear what I hear?"

Everyone listened. As they kept moving, keeping up their defensive attacks, the sound grew clearer. And everyone's stomach began to feel sick. It was the sounds of the resistance humans dying under the thundering pink rain of death. Tears spilled from the gaurdian's eyes as their life-long dedication to protect humans seemed wasted in the few seconds that the last humans were killed.

X was about to shout encouragement to his comrades when Alisi's voice sounded over his head mic again. "X! Ciel has just left, I don't know where she went. There's a huge reploid approaching you from in front of you! Watch out!"

The laser fire had begun to lessen in intensity. Megaman shouted to Harpuia to set the group down underneath a bridge. Harpuia did so and everyone fell down and gasped for breath.

"Guys, a huge reploid is approaching us." said X. "We don't have much time, we need to transfer out of here!"

Fefnir pointed wearily down the dried out riverbed. "That thing?"

An ominous shape was clearly visible against the darkness. A stray laser struck down near it, giving a burst of light that revealed its shape.

"It's Dr. Weil!" growled Harpuia. "I've seen that body before, he's coming to get us!"

"Let's get out of here!" urged X. "We need to first get out of here now!"

Leviathan stood up, lifting her staff into the air. "I will not leave until Dr. Weil is dead." she said firmly. "He has violated our minds and killed the humans we swore to protect. I cannot forgive him, and I will not rest until I see him dead."

Harpuia and Fefnir joined Leviathan, raising their exhausted forms upright. Dr. Weil was only a short distance away. "Wait!" X shouted. "Harpuia, I helped you save your friends. You first have to help me save mine, Zero isn't safe yet!"

"X, there is no time!" said Harpuia. "We can hold Dr. Weil off so you can escape. Take Zero. We will take care of Weil for him."

X was torn between retreating with Zero or fighting with the gaurdians whom he had now considered friends. He finally decided that he wasn't going to lose Zero at this point. He would not leave him again after all that had been done to save him. He picked up Zero and started running up the riverbed, away from his comrades. "Goodbye, and thank you!" he shouted over his shoulder.

X didn't actually get far. He was about a hundered yards away when a flash shone before him and Ciel appeared! He came to a halt and demanded what she was doing there.

"I'm here to help Zero." she said simply. "I have a weapon that will save him and give him the power to defeat Weil."

X felt a familiar presence coming from Ciel. "Ciel, if you have what I think you have..." he murmured.

He was right. A large beachball sized glowing orb floated out from behind Ciel and illuminated everything around them. It was the Mother Elf, and it softly called Zero's name. "Zeeerooo..."

Zero's body twitched and his head snapped in Mother's direction. His eyes actually opened, and he gasped out. "Mother! You came for me... Help me..."

The elf called his name again. "Zeeerooo..." It shone a laser light into Zero's crest for a few seconds. Then all of a sudden, it slammed right into Zero and Zero was hurled into the air. X and Ciel were tossed aside as the whole sky turned to day for just a few blissful moments. Zero's silhouette hovered peacefully in the air, a smile on his face as the power of Mother Elf healed his entire being and began building his power.

"Ha ha ha ha!" laughed Zero. He began to grow in size, his height gaining three feet every second. His armor itself would have shown if it hadn't been surrounded by the light of Mother Elf. Ciel and X were dumbstruck as Zero eventually grew into a giant, grasping the hilt of an enormous Z-Saber which was now at least thirty feet long!

"Ha ha ha ha!" Zero laughed again. He looked down at X and Ciel, and the most peaceful smile he ever exhibited shone down upon them. "X, Ciel, I've reuinted with an old friend. I told her once we would save the world together, and now we will. Come here, I'll carry you two with me as I deal with Dr. Weil."

Zero lifted X and Ciel like two stuffed animals and strode down the riverbed as comfortably as if he was taking a walk in the afternoon. A few lasers flew into Zero, who didn't even block the shots as they bounced off his armor. Up ahead, Fefnir, Leviathan and Harpuia had suffered badly at the hands of Weil. Zero's shining form pulled all of them from their battle as he walked up, his light hurting their eyes. Zero used his saber and cut through the bridge as he approached them.

Weil shook his head, realizing his defeat was right in front of him. "No... Mother Elf, how could it be..."

Zero set X and Ciel down. Humorously, he ignored Weil for a few moments as he picked up the gaurdians in his hands and closed his fingers around them. Dr. Weil fired every weapon at the highest level into Zero, but didn't even succeed in making Zero stumble. Zero opened his hands again, and the three gaurdians all lay perfectly healed. He set them aside and then charged his Z-Saber.

Dr. Weil turned to flee. Zero leapt over him like an angel and landed in front of him, delivering a kick into Weil that sent him sprawling into the bridge wreckage. Zero jumped again, landing with Weil just before him. He raised his Z-Saber high. "DIE!!" He roared, and he struck down.

Everyone else quickly huddled together to shield themselves from the chunks of Weil's armor that flew all over the City. A small crater was made where Weil's form had once been, and flaming debris started floating down like snow around Zero, who was hunched over his blade still stuck firmly in the ground. Zero lifted his head and saw something a short distance away. He pulled his saber out of the ground and walked over to it. The gaurdians, X and Ciel could only see Zero pick up a tiny... object. He tossed it into the air, and held out his Z-Saber to catch it as it came down. It sizzled away into nothingness as it touched his blade.

X and Ciel and the gaurdians lifted their heads as Zero's steps neared them. He placed a large hand over them and transferred all of them out of the area and onto the roof of the Resistance Base. Zero and the Mother Elf seperated, returning Zero back to his original size. She drifted away into the sky, still calling in her sing-song voice to Zero as she disappeared into the night. "She has to leave." said Zero. "She needs to rest for now. But she has given me new strength, and Dr. Weil is dead. His power to control minds is gone with him, and the satellite has revealed Dr. Weil's deeds to Neo Arcadia."

He then turned and smiled at everyone. Everyone has been silent up till this point, and had merely watched things happen. Zero laughed at them all. "It seems you have all done very well without me." he said. "I don't think you had much to worry about."

Ciel smiled at him. "But we weren't totally self-sufficient. X saved us all in our most desperate moment, but even he couldn't have fought Weil. Um... Zero? You're still glowing a little, aren't you?"

It was true, Zero still shone with power. It was obvious that Zero's super strength had not totally left him. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped and his smiling face fell. "Yes... Um, let's talk later, alright? I need to rest, believe it or not. I have to get used to being 'me' again."


	24. I AM Zero!

Zero was applauded and welcomed by the resistance and many reploids were more than joyful for the return of their hero. Zero smiled and thanked them all, but said little otherwise. None of the guardians really associated with the others. They pretty much followed Zero and acknowledged any praise or compliment made to them. X reunited with Alisi, who quickly explained everything that had happened. Ciel's search for the Mother Elf had suddenly turned out successful, and she quickly left with the Mother Elf to go help X and co. when she saw the reploid on the monitor near X's position.

X quickly understood and told Alisi he held nothing against her. "Now that we're here," he said with a smile "I think you and I have a few plans to make."

Afterwards, Megaman and Zero made a true reacquaintance. Zero was overjoyed at meeting his old friend at long last, and Megaman was never happier to just converse with his partner once again. Ciel had tried to make Zero feel accepted and tried to help him forget that he had ever done anything wrong. But even as Zero knew that she had good intentions, it only made him think more and more about what he did, and self-condemning thoughts entered his mind and he became very solemn and quiet.

Towards the end of the day Zero went outside the base and onto the roof among the towers. He did what he usually did when he desperately needed to think and be alone. X say him, but lingered in the base. He could think of what Zero was thinking and knew that he was best left alone.

Ciel did not know this, unfortunately, and she decided that she should try and speak to Zero despite his mood. After about two hours, she had waited long enough. She entered the roof area and looked for him. She found him perched right on the very edge of the roof, standing perfectly still and unblinking. She very slowly and very carefully touched his arm. Zero's eyes darted in her direction, and then looked back at the horizon.

"Can I talk to you, Zero?" she asked very quietly. Zero barely moved from his fixed position as he nodded without speaking. This old stony conduct of his had returned. Ciel would have sighed if she hadn't been so concientious of his thoughts. "How are you feeling Zero?" she asked, trying to sound a little cheerful.

"I feel horrible." he replied. "I feel more guilt and self hatred towards myself than I ever have. No, that's not true. I've felt this way before, but it has never lasted this long. I'm going to leave this base Ciel. I'm going to leave it in X's hands."

"Why?" asked Ciel. "Why should you leave, after everything you've done for us?"

Zero looked at her like she was insane. "You mean everything I've done **to** you. Ciel, I've killed resistance reploids. I've threatened everyone's very existence and the welfare of the whole world. I nearly killed you! I've never done such horrible things to others in my life Ciel. It will be safer for me to be away from you, and the resistance."

Ciel shook her head. "You can't.." she said, her voice beginning to break slightly. "We won't be safer without you. We would be nothing if it weren't for you. What about me... I couldn't bare to lose you again after all this."

Zero felt a pain in his chest begin to grow. He bowed his head and turned around from his forward gaze. "I'm nothing but a danger to you Ciel. I can't stay around you, for your sake."

Ciel's eyes streamed tears. "For **my** sake?!" she cried. "But Zero, I love you!"

"I know that!" yelled Zero, stress building in his voice. Ciel was dumbstruck, and her tearstained face froze in shock. Zero's whole form sagged.

"I know that, but... you can't trust me like this, Ciel." he said as a lump of his own filled his throat. "Even with Dr. Weil gone, I'm just a machine. A robot to be controlled by good or evil. I'm not even capable of choosing who I follow, I... I'm not trustworthy. I'm only a machine."

Ciel walked right up to him and grabbed his shoulders. "That is not true! It wasn't a machine that decided that Dr. Weil could have one more chance to live! You saved my sister and saved the rest of us from Dr. Weil's reign. I don't care what you may think of yourself, I know that you are a perfect reploid. There is more to you than your armor and saber. You are Zero, and that is what gave X another chance to live. Zero is the one who saved my life at the first request right after being awakened from a hundred year sleep. Zero is the one who saved this resistance and freed the whole of Neo Arcadia from the grip of evil. Whatever things you may have done while being controlled were not your fault. It's _the_ Zero that dwells in that body and fights for right and peace between reploids and humans. You are Zero."

Zero's face was lined with streams of tears running from his eyes. He had never had someone trust him so much in all his life. He covered his face with his hand and swallowed hard to keep from sobbing outright. "I knew someone else.." he whispered. "Who I loved, and she loved me, but.. she didn't believe in me."

"I believe in you." said Ciel. "I've nearly lost you so many times, you have been nearly killed so many times, and you've been destroyed over and over again. And yet, you always find a way of coming back to help humans and reploids."

Zero felt his guilt ridden soul begin to feel light and he looked up and out towards the horizon again. "You're right." he said. "I never thought of it in that way myself but... what you said is true."

He shut his eyes and said. "I am Zero."

He turned around and gave Ciel a warm smile. "I am Zero!" he said again as he felt his confidence returning to himself. Ciel smiled back and nodded happily. "Yes, you are Zero."

Ciel never saw Zero look so happy before. Then, his expression softened as he continued to look at her. He stepped forward, tilted her chin upwards and kissed her. Ciel felt her heart leap to the skies. She couldn't believe what was happening. Then Zero broke the kiss...

And then he kissed her again! Zero never felt more love for anyone in the world. He kissed her once more and then pulled her close to him in a hug that Ciel had believed she would never feel again. "Ciel.. I love you." said Zero softly. "... so much."

Ciel sighed and hugged Zero as much as she could. Nothing could have ruined the moment right then. Ciel had never felt love since she left Neo Arcadia, except from Alouette.

And her parents. Ciel felt tears spring into her eyes as she remembered what happened. Zero looked down and noticed this. He pulled away and asked her. "What is it?"

"My parents." she whispered.

"Oh Ciel!" Said Zero. "I'm so sorry!"

Ciel let out a small sob and she grabbed Zero's arm tightly. "Please don't ever leave me again." she said pleadingly.

"Ciel... I can't promise that." said Zero. "I may have some other duty to fulfil in the future, but... I won't ever leave you if I can help it."

Ciel did not expect to here this from Zero. Zero smiled and patted her hair. "But don't worry. I always come back, I'm a shooting star. I'm Zero, remember?"

Ciel smiled and she and Zero both left the roof, taking a tower elevator down to the main halls of the base. They both simply walked together up and down the base feeling happier than both of them had thought possible. Other soldiers elbowed Zero and grinned mischeviously. They saw Cerveau and Enzan and Alisi and Selah. They both smiled at them and all of them gave them their best wishes. X shook Zero's hand and smiled warmly. "Congratulations, Zero and Ciel."

"Thanks X." said Zero and Ciel in unison. Leviathan and Harpuia both walked up to them.

"Thank you all." said Zero. "For all you did to get me back. Only one other person ever went through that much trouble to get me back."

Leviathan and Harpuia simply smiled. "We owed it to you." said Harpuia, though you could tell through his mutual air that he really appreciated the praise.

"So are you three going to be staying here with us?" asked X. "We could always use your help here."

Fefnir joined the group. "Nope." he said. "We're going back to Neo Arcadia and help the humans there."

"He's right." said Harpuia. "We're going to leave for a while. If you ever need our help, we'll be nearby, don't you worry."

Megaman nodded. "Alright. I wish you guys would stay here, but I know what you mean. I felt the same way once... a century ago. But anyway, I guess I'll see you later then."

"You will see _us_ later." said Leviathan, who had grabbed Harpuia's arm and smiled in a very hinting manner. They all transferred out, leaving the three alone.

"They are great fighters." said Zero. "I'm sure they can't stay away for long. What do you think, X?"

Megaman shrugged. "I'm not sure. But I suppose Harpuia and Leviathan have a few ideas in mind. If you'll excuse me, I have a few ideas in mind for Alisi and myself that I need to discuss with her."

"I'm sure you AND I both have things to discuss." said Zero smiling and clapping his friend on the shoulder. "Go get'em Megaman."

X smiled. His friend was really back.

And that concludes this story. If I haven't already, I say a big thanks to those who have faithfully read my story even though I was horrible in updating it. I hope you all enjoyed it very much! Bye!


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